


Death and the maiden

by rdalvi



Series: Death and the maiden [1]
Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-09
Updated: 2015-10-29
Packaged: 2018-02-28 19:28:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 92,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2744339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rdalvi/pseuds/rdalvi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a Root and Shaw story set in an alternate universe. Root is a lonely IT professional who also has certain dark tendencies. One night she happens to meet Death who looks a lot like Shaw. She instantly falls in love with her and now has to figure out a way to attract her attention.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The days were boring and the nights were boring and lonely.

Samantha Groves had always been a loner. She was an IT consultant and a programmer working for one of countless IT firms in Silicon Valley. She wasn’t particularly social and had never really liked people in general. She had tried dating few times with both guys and girls. She realized that she preferred girls. But either ways she hadn’t found anyone she got along with.

Up until a few months back she didn’t even mind being alone, but somehow in the past few months she had started to feel the loneliness. She had tried the whole dating thing again but with no luck. So, she had gone back to her daily life and accepted her fate for the time being.

She was also a part time hacker. She would indulge in it during the weekends. She wasn’t into anything too dangerous or illegal, just some minor stuff. Her hacker name was Root. She liked that name more than Samantha and had often thought if she should have it legally changed.

But all those things kept aside, Root knew that there was something else seriously wrong with her.  She was attracted to violence. The sight of blood was almost like an aphrodisiac. She had known it since she was a kid. She also knew that was capable of inflicting immense physical harm on others and that it made feel nice. More than nice, it made feel great. So far she had managed to hide that part of herself from everyone, even her parents. But it was this seed of darkness and chaos that was forever inside her, waiting for the right moment to blossom.

When she was fifteen there had a few cases of unexplained deaths in her neighborhood and school. A couple of bullies at school, an old man in the neighborhood and a teacher had all died in mysterious circumstances. There had been a thorough investigation but the detectives couldn’t quite prove the deaths to be murders and had been eventually written off as accidents.  Sam had enjoyed those kills but she knew that if she continued she would be behind bars before she even reached her eighteenth birthday or worse end up dead. So she had decided to bury that part of her deep inside herself. She had started to attend AA meetings and had hoped she could just treat it like a bad addiction but the feelings had refused to die away.

For twenty years those feelings had lain dormant inside her. She had refused to water that seed of chaos. But little did she know that all that was about to change that night and for the oldest and strangest of reasons.

 

Her day hadn’t started like she would have wanted it to.

Samantha reached her office twenty minutes later than usual. The bus that she took to work was overcrowded and she couldn’t get on it. So she had to wait for another one to show up while she planned on setting the previous bus on fire and watching everyone on it burn down to a cinder.  The bus that she did manage to get on had a couple of young punks who just wouldn’t shut up. They had also decided that she was very attractive and had managed to tell her that in a lot of very unsubtle ways. Sam smiled back at them sweetly as she worked the many ways in which she could kill them. As her stop neared and she stood up to get down, the punks decided to surround her, but Sam knew how to take care of herself. She had mastered the art of fighting while looking clumsy so no one ever thought that she had done it on purpose. She waited till the bus was close to the stop. She knew that the driver always opened the door slightly before the bus came to a complete stop and that there was an electric pole on the pavement next to the bus stop.

As the bus lurched towards the stop, Root turned towards one of the guys and used the bus’s momentum and sway to ram her purse into his groin. The man doubled over and fell to the bus floor holding his genitals while his friends moved towards him to help. Sam moved back slightly and started to apologize for her clumsiness. At the same time the bus driver started to open the door out of habit. Root saw the door opening and she moved closer towards the fallen man and his friends. She saw the bus approach the pole and she made her move. She bent down to pretending to see if he was alright and she gently nudged his friend who was closest to the door. The man lost his footing and fell backwards. Root reached out to grab him but kept her hand pulled back just enough to be out of his reach. He fell through the open door and banged his head in the approaching pole and then bounced off it and hit the pavement with a sickening crunch.

The bus finally came to a stop and Root made sure she was the first one to rush to the fallen man’s aid. Root knelt beside him as his friends came down as well as did the rest of the passenger. The man had definitely suffered some sort of major head trauma. As the crowd gathered around the man, Root quietly stepped away.

Root smiled and calmly walked towards her office. She turned around and saw the crowd starting still trying to help the guy. One of his friends was still holding on to his groin and was slightly bent over. Root chuckled and looked down at her watch and found out that she was almost fifteen minutes late. Her boss wasn’t going to be happy about that. She cursed out loud and picked up the pace.

She found her new boss waiting by the entrance. He was a hard ass when it came to punctuality.

“Ms. Grooves, you are twenty minutes late.”

Root looked at her watch and replied, “Fifteen.”

“Not according to my watch. I will be deducting half a day’s salary. You have been warned Ms. Grooves, If you are late again I might have to let you go” saying that her boss turned around and left, leaving Sam standing near entrance looking furious and wishing that everyone was forgiven at least one murder. In her case, maybe more than one.

But the day didn’t improve. The office servers broke down because of the stupidity of one of the newbies and so she had to spend the rest of the day trying to bring them back online while everyone else kept asking her how long it would take. She felt like was on a road trip with a bunch of five year olds who all wanted to know if they were there yet. Every now and then her boss would drop by and threaten to fire her if the servers weren’t up in a few minutes.

The day at last came to an end and all Root wanted to do was to go home and play some video games. The server repair had taken longer than she had expected and it was nearly half past ten when she exited her office building.

As she was waiting for her bus, her boss passed by her.

“Ms. Grooves, remember what I told you. Either you decide to be on time or not show up at all.”

He smiled at her and walked away, Root stared at him with murderous intentions. It was then that it happened. It was late at night and the road was mostly devoid of traffic or people. Her boss decided to cross the road, when all of a sudden a car came careening around the corner. Her boss couldn’t hear it because he had chose that exact moment to answer his phone.

It was as if everything slowed down. Samantha Grooves knew that she had enough time to warn her boss but chose not to do it. She watched as the car turned at approached her boss. The sound finally reached her boss’s ear but it was too late to react. She saw his face slowly contort in surprise and then in horror as he saw the car racing towards him. The front of the bumper came in contact with his knees which, with impact, bent in the wrong direction. He was thrown in the air and then bounced of the hood of the car. She saw his face hit the hood of the car and saw a couple of teeth fly loose. The car showed absolutely no intentions of slowing down and her boss rolled over the top of the car and bounced off the trunk and landed with a bone crunching thud on the road. The car driver did not slow down and kept on driving.

As the car raced past Root, time once again seemed to flow at a regular pace. She looked around and found that she was the only living person that street. She slowly walked up to where her boss had landed and saw the body of her boss lying there twisted into impossible positions. Blood had started to leak out of his various orifices and had begun to pool around the body. She stood there and looked at the body in amazement. The blood pooling around was like water for that dormant seed inside her and the seed blossomed into a tiny flower.

But then something happened that she had never even dreamed off.

The shadows on the street started to converge. They raced from every dark corner and met in the centre of the street where they merged together to take form. They rose up and twisted and turned. The space around them distorted. They rose to a seemingly impossible height and then again shrank back. They formed a wall of darkness and then something stepped through. At first it was a leg and then an arm and then the shadows formed a clothing of sorts and a tall figure stood in the middle of the street next to the dead body of Root’s boss. For a brief moment Root thought that she saw a giant scythe in the figure’s hand. It turned to look at Root, but then it looked down again and it transformed once more. This time it shrank. The shadows became a hoodie and jeans and figure became a woman. The most beautiful woman Root had ever seen in her life.

It was then that Root realized that there was someone standing next to her. It was her dead boss, looking rather perplexed. He stood there staring at his body as his mind tried to come to terms with what had just happened.

“Wha… What’s going on? Why am I lying on the road like that?”

 Root jumped a little as she heard the ghost standing next to her speak. She was quite sure that she had finally lost her mind.

“You’re dead, Mr. Mendez” said the woman in the hoodie. The voice sounded melodic, but it also sounded like it was coming over an immeasurable distance.

“But how?” Mr. Mendez was still struggling to understand what was going on.

“Well, didn’t anyone ever tell you that you shouldn’t talk on the phone while crossing the road?” The woman in the hoodie smirked and Root decided that she liked her. The woman stepped forward and held out her had for Mr. Mendez.

“It’s time to go, Mr. Mendez. Heaven is waiting and I don’t have all day.”

“I can’t be dead. I just got my promotion.” The man begged.

“You should have thought about that before you took that call.” Death tried to sound a little kinder, but was still regarding the dead man as an idiot.

Root stood there in her place as this entire scenario played out in front of her. Her boss finally took the woman’s hand and they started to walk away. As she saw the woman walk away she broke out of her trance. She knew she had to say something. She couldn’t just let her leave.

“Hi, I’m Root.” Root blurted out.

Death stopped and turned around.

“What’s your name?”

The woman kept staring at her. Death was surprised that this tall woman could not only see her but was actually trying to talk to her. It was amused, a feeling that it didn’t feel very often.

“Can I see you again?” Root asked desperately, hoping to get some sort of a reply.

The woman in the hoodie tilted her head slightly and smiled. Root caught her breath. It was the most dazzling smile she had ever seen.

“Curious. Very curious.” Death finally spoke and then she turned around and disappeared into the shadows with Root’s boss.

The street was once again empty and all that was left were Root and the dead man on the road. Root looked at the spot where the woman had disappeared and she could still see the faint glimmer of that smile.

Root was in love. She had to see that woman again.

She just didn’t know how.


	2. Chapter 2

Root didn't get back home till almost one in the morning.

After Death had disappeared, Root looked at her watch and was surprised that almost no time had passed. It was as if Death had made time come to a standstill. She knew she would have to call the cops. The intersection was monitored by CCTV cameras and if she would have just left, then sooner or later cops would have come knocking on her door. So, that’s what she did, she called the cops.

It took the cops and the emergency services almost fifteen minutes to arrive. Then she had to answer their stupid repetitive questions. After a few questions she realized that they were all looking at her strangely.

“Could you tell us one more time what happened?” asked the cop for the third time.

Root sighed and replied as calmly as possible, “As I told you the last time, I was waiting for my bus to arrive and Mr. Mendez was crossing the road. The car came out of nowhere and hit him. I didn’t even have time to react. It all happened so suddenly.”

As she answered the question Root understood why they were looking at her like that. It was because she wasn’t reacting in the stereotypical way a woman should react, which was emotionally. Root decided that now was good time to start crying and so almost on cue she began to shake and started sobbing.

“I’m sorry. It’s all so horrible. I must have been in shock. He was such a nice man. I can’t believe he’s… dead.” She started to mumble and tears started rolling down her cheeks. She had always been good at crying on cue. She would have made a great actress.

And the moment she started crying, everyone around her suddenly turned sympathetic. She smiled internally. People were so predictable. The paramedics gave her a blanket and something warm to drink and made her sit down for a while. The cops thanked her for her co-operation and told her that she had shown great presence of mind that she had called the cops and not panicked.

A little while later, things started to wind up. The people from the coroner’s office put the body into the ambulance and the cops offered to give Samantha Grooves a ride back to her house which she gladly accepted. She knew that it would have been difficult to catch a bus back home that late at night. Along the way the cops tried to carry out some idle chit-chat, but Root remained mostly silent. All she could think of was that dazzling smile and how she could see it again or if she even saw it in the first place. She had always known that she wasn't all there upstairs and maybe she was finally losing her grip on reality. Maybe there had been no accident. Maybe she had pushed her boss in front of the speeding car. At that moment she had no real way of knowing so she waited on passing a judgment on herself.

Finally, the cops dropped her off at her place and told her quite politely that she shouldn't leave town, which she had no intentions of doing anyways.

It had been a while but that night Root dreamt of death. It had never looked this beautiful.

* * *

 

 

The next day she woke up feeling better than she had felt in years. She felt like she had a purpose. But in order to pursue that purpose she first had to be sure that it wasn't all in her head.

She called up her office and took the next couple of days off. The news of Mr. Mendez’s demise had, by then, spread through her office like wildfire and everyone was really understanding towards her. Her HR manager told her take the entire week off if she needed, and that it wouldn’t be deducted from her salary. Root thanked her and put the phone down.

She spent the rest of the morning trying to figure out how she could see Death again. She took a walk in the park close to her house. It always helped her think more clearly. She ran through the various options in her mind. She figured she could buy a police scanner and listen to the police and ambulance frequencies, so she could track down accident sites. But that wasn’t going to work. She had to be there at the exact time of death. By the time she would get there the soul would have already been collected.

As she was thinking about her options, a solution presented itself. She heard an ambulance siren. She looked around and saw that an ambulance had just arrived near her apartment building and she knew exactly what she had to do. She just had to hang around the emergency room of any hospital. There was bound to be a fair amount of death in a hospital on a daily basis.

* * *

 

 

So the next day Root travelled through the city and found the busiest hospital she could find. She parked her car and made her way to the emergency room. The room was filled with a lot people in various stages of disease or injury but no one seemed to be anywhere close to dying. Root decided to wait. The waiting area was overcrowded and no one was paying any attention to her. Root had to wait almost five hours before she got what she came for.

Root had almost fallen asleep when she heard commotion. She looked on as paramedics and nurses brought in a man seriously injured in an accident and behind him was a woman who looked to be in even worse condition. Neither one looked that they would survive. They were both covered in blood. It seemed like the man had suffered a major head injury and the woman had metal rod sticking through her stomach. There was blood everywhere. The paramedics were trying their best to stem the flow but it didn’t look like they were being successful.

Root was wide awake and excited. She was keeping her fingers crossed and hoped that at least one of them would die. It was a morbid thought but she had to test out her theory. Besides, she told herself, she wasn’t the one responsible for their situation, not that it mattered to her.

Root didn’t have to wait for too long. The woman was the first to go. The doctors had barely managed to get her to the operating room when her vitals started to drop. The doctors tried everything but it seemed like she had lost too much blood.

A moment later Root saw the woman standing next to her dead body as it bled out. The doctors and nurses were trying their best to revive her. They brought in the crash cart and every time the shock ran through her body her soul flickered, as if the jolt of electricity coursing through her body was trying to keep the soul connected to the physical plane. But it was to no avail. After a few tries the doctors gave up and declared the woman dead.

The woman looked around confused wondering where she was and then the shadows repeated their previous dance. The coalesced in the middle of the room and Death made its way towards the woman. As it approached the woman, Root stood up and made her way towards both of them.

She saw Death talking to the woman trying to reassure her that everything was going to be fine. At that moment something else happened. The man from the accident died as well. Death flickered and Root saw that there was another version of Death standing next to the man talking to him. Root was surprised for a second but she recovered quickly. It made sense to her that Death would be able to do that, after all it would have to be in many places at the same time.

Root chose to ignore the man and decided to concentrate on the woman. As she turned around to look at them she saw that Death was back in her female form. Root took a deep breath as she once again held that beautiful figure in sight.

Death was almost done talking to her and the dead woman gave it her hand. As they both turned around Death was surprised to find Root standing in front of it. The woman in the hoodie stopped and stared at her. Root smiled at her. A vague smile seemed to play on Deaths lips. Death walked past her with the woman. As it went a little further it started to dissipate along with the soul in its care. But before it vanished completely it looked back one last time, as if to confirm that it hadn’t been mistaken in what it had just seen. Root grinned at it in return. Death shook her head in disbelief and finally disappeared.

Root almost leapt with joy having confirmed that she was still sane and that everything that she had seen was real. But, she controlled herself once she remembered that she was still standing in the middle of an emergency room where two people had just died.

Root got out of the hospital and made her way back to her car. Once in the car she almost screamed with joy and grabbed the steering wheel and shook the entire car in her excitement. The passers-by looked at her curiously wondering if she was happy or something bad had happened. Root noticed people looking at her strangely and quickly started the car and drove off.

* * *

 

 

Once she was on her way back she finally calmed down. Now that she knew that she wasn’t hallucinating she needed to figure out how to attract Deaths attention. She knew exactly what she had to do. The only problem was that she was out of touch and more than a little bit rusty.

Firstly, she would have to get back into shape if she was going to go down that dark path again and that was going to take time. But Root was patient and she knew that Death wasn’t going to anywhere either. And so started preparing for the onslaught of chaos that she was about to unleash on the city. But it was all in the name of love and she couldn’t find a fault in that.

A week later, Root quit her job and decided to go full time into freelancing so she would have the time concentrate on the more important things in her life. She knew that Death would come the moment anyone died. The cause of death didn’t matter. Root had no plans of sitting in hospitals waiting for people to die. If she was going to get to know Death she was going to have to be more proactive, which meant killing people.

Now, killing people wasn’t the problem per say, it was who could she kill that wouldn’t attract a lot of attention. So she started to prepare a list and in the meantime she got back into working out. If she was going to do this she had to be in good shape because one day she might have to drag a body and she didn’t want to be unprepared when that eventuality came.

Root picked up a police scanner and she started to buy books on forensics. She already had a few but now she needed to be thorough.

Root worked in the daytime and roamed around the city at night. Now that she had finally embraced her inner chaos she needed to do something about it. It was like an itch she couldn’t scratch. If she didn’t find a suitable target soon, she realized that she might just kill her next door neighbor and she knew that wasn’t a good idea from any standpoint.

So, she started to make a list of people that she could kill. But it wasn’t really working out. She needed a target that wouldn’t attract a lot of attention. Someone no one would miss. She quickly ruled out colleagues, relatives or acquaintances. She couldn’t go after anyone she knew as that would lead the cops back to her. As she drove around the city looking for potential targets, she quickly ruled out homeless people as well. There just seemed no point in killing anyone who had already fallen that low. She kept searching for potential candidates.

But then she got her break.

* * *

 

 

One night she found herself travelling through the seedier parts of the city and for a moment she thought she had hit the mother lode. Junkies and hookers stood at every corner. Root thought that she had finally found what she was looking for, people that no one would miss. But upon closer inspection she realized that these people didn’t deserve to be killed anymore than the homeless did. It wasn’t their fault that they had been dealt some bad cards in their lives. So she drove on, but then she finally understood what she was looking for. She wasn’t looking for people no one would miss, but she was looking for those who even if they went missing no one would care about and then she found them. They, too, were on the streets but they hid in the shadows. They were the dealers and the pimps and the others who controlled those who hawked their wares and kept the rest of the desperate ones in their place. They were the ones that everyone hated including the cops. If one of those died no one would really bother with the how and whys of their death.

Now that she had found her potential involuntary applicants for the job of victim, all she had to do was to find a worthy candidate. Root spent a few more days travelling though the area until, at last, she found her worthy candidate.

His name was Eddie Robertson, but for some reason everyone called him Rods. She never found out the history behind that nickname and it didn’t matter in the grand scheme of things.

Eddie was a small time dealer and a wannabe pimp. He was unnecessarily harsh the few girls that her controlled and he wasn’t even honest about the drugs that he sold. He adulterated them more than the others and even fudged the quantities. But, he had grand ambitions. He thought himself to a smarter than everyone else and that maybe one day he would control the city like Elias did. Everyone is allowed to have ambitions, whether they achieve them is a different story altogether and in Eddie’s case he just didn't have enough time left to achieve any of his goals.

* * *

 

 

Root knew she needed to be meticulous. She looked for CCTV cameras in the area and found that most of them were either broken or purposely destroyed. She watched Eddie and memorized his route and habits. She also scoped out the entire area to make sure that she had an exit strategy, in case things went sideways. Finally after a weeklong preparation she was ready. Root was excited that she was once again going to meet Death.

The day of the deed finally came. Root had chosen a weekday knowing that the place won’t be crowded. She stole her neighbor’s car. He was out of the country and she knew he wouldn’t miss it being gone for a few hours. She loaded it with supplies and was on her way.

* * *

 

 

It was around ten thirty at night and Root had reached her location. She had spotted an alley way behind the main street which no one frequented and that’s where she parked her car. Root had picked up some old clothes and was dressed like a homeless woman and she waited for Eddie in the back alley. He usually frequented it to take a piss as did a lot of the others which accounted for the smell. Root had prepared herself for it. The things one had to do for love.

Eddie, on the other hand, was having a great night. The girls were doing well, even though a couple of them had to whacked around a little bit. After all they needed to be told who was boss. He had also managed to rip off a couple of junkies and sold them some watered down shit. It was a good night indeed. His boss was going to be happy with tonight’s collection. But Eddie, as usual, had had too many beers and needed to relieve himself.

He entered the alley and stood in his usual place. As he was going about his business he saw an old homeless woman standing a little ways away.

“What you looking at, bitch. Haven’t you seen a dick before? Or maybe you want a piece of the action.” Eddie laughed at his own quick-witted remarks.

“What do you say, how about a blowjob, I’ll give ten bucks for it.”

He was still going about his business and was talking to the wall. He had failed to notice that the woman was now just inches behind him. He pulled up his zipper and turned around. He jumped back upon seeing that homeless woman so close and stepped in a puddle of his own piss.

“What the..” that was all that he could utter before the homeless woman stuck him in the neck with a taser.

Eddie convulsed and fell to the filthy floor of the alley.

“Nice offer, maybe next time.” Root pulled back the hoodie that had been covering her face and smiled at the unconscious dealer.

* * *

 

 

It took Root a little bit of time to drag Eddie’s limp form to the car. She dumped him into the trunk, bound his hands and legs and put a gag in his mouth. She then drove off to this abandoned warehouse she had located. Over the course of the past ten days Root had marked a whole bunch of remote secluded locations that she could use for her project.

The abandoned warehouse was in a wooded area which made it a good place to go unnoticed. The whole place was falling apart. The roof of the warehouse was almost gone and a lot of the scaffolding had fallen to the ground. The ground was mostly broken concrete, vegetation and the odd and fallen metal beam jutting out of the ground. It made the whole structure was very unsafe and Root had carefully marked out a spot that she knew was structurally sound.

The surrounding area was pitch black and Root had to keep the head lights on to see anything. Root picked up the taser and got out of the car. Root made her way to the trunk to get Eddie out. She had given him a small dose of a tranquilizer to keep him in check. She had also set up a metal chair inside the warehouse where she would take care of him.

 But things don’t always go according to plan.

The sedative that Root had given hadn’t been enough and Eddie had woken up somewhere during the journey. He had managed to get his feet free even though his arms and mouth were still tied up. He promised himself that whoever had done this to him, he would make them suffer. He waited for his opportunity to escape. He felt the car stop and heard someone get out. He prepared himself.

Root opened the trunk. Eddie kept pretending that he was unconscious. He felt two hands drag him up and he knew that this was his chance. He used his legs to push himself back. The force of the push threw him out of the car and he fell on top of his captor. He knew he didn’t have enough time. He desperately scrambled on to his feet. He turned for a second and saw that his captor was still trying to recover. He looked around for a second and he could make out the abandoned warehouse in the glare of the headlights and decided that that would be a good place to hide. He made a run for it and that was his mistake, running.

Eddie had only managed to get a few feet before he banged his right shin into a long metal beam protruding from the ground. The edge of the beam tore through his pants and sliced open the front of his leg. He screamed out and tried to take care of it but his hands were still tied behind his back but found it to be quite difficult. He straightened up and tried running again but pain shot through his right leg. He started to limp but kept trying to run at the same time, dragging his right leg behind him. He turned around to see where his captor was and that was his final mistake. His left foot caught in some broken concrete and he tripped and fell.

Root was still a little dazed from the fall but had recovered enough to see her target trying to run into the warehouse. She saw the cut his leg and then saw him trip, but what happened next surprised them both.

Eddie tried to maintain his balance which was impossible given how tied up he was and he felt his body starting to keel over. As he was falling he saw the ground and his entire short and miserable life flashed in front of his eye. In the glare of the headlights he could see a sharp rusted metal shard protruding from the floor and it was directly aligned with his neck and there was nothing he could do about it.

Root saw him fall and then heard what sounded like a knife going through a watermelon. She got up, took out her taser and rushed towards him, but realized that she wouldn’t need the taser after all.

The shard had gone right through Eddie’s neck. In fact it was so big that there were only millimeters of skin that was attaching his head to the rest of his body. Eddie lay there twitching and convulsing. Blood was coming out of his mouth in spurts as he tried to form some words, maybe his last words. But that wasn’t meant to be. All Root could hear was some sort of strangled gurgling.

“Oh fuck. Now look what you've done. You couldn’t just go along with the plan, could you?” Root asked Eddie irritatedly.

No one knew if she expected a reply. Eddie definitely wasn’t in any position to reply. He was too busy choking on his own blood. Root was frustrated. All those days of meticulous planning and it had all been laid to waste because the moron had decided to run. This was not how she wanted to present herself.

Root found herself thinking, _“What would she think of me? How incompetent am I, that I couldn’t even execute a simple murder.”_

But there was not time for negative thoughts.

“This is all you fault. I was going to kill you painlessly. You wouldn’t have felt a thing. But no, you just had to run and now look at you. Are you happy, huh are you?” Root found herself yelling at poor Eddie who was now sputtering like a water logged engine, just instead of water he kept spitting out blood.

Root knew it was an exercise in futility and she resigned herself to the situation. Death would show up one way or the other and she would get to meet her. That’s all that mattered. So, she went and leaned on the bonnet of her car and waited for Eddie to die. Eddie on the other hand was taking his own sweet time to doing it but he was also putting on quite a show as he died. The show mostly comprised of gurgles, squeaks and the occasional dance of the twitchy feet. If nothing else Eddie managed to entertain Root for the remaining ten minutes of his life and then there was finally silence.

Root stood up, alert and on the lookout for her favorite visitor. She noticed that Eddie was now standing next to his body, looking just as lost as the rest of the souls Root had seen and then she appeared.

Death made her way towards Eddie and was about to talk to him when she noticed someone else standing there. She turned around and was surprised to see that it was Root.

“You?” Death sounded surprised.

“Hi. You remember me?” Root asked in return.

“You were there on the road and then at the hospital. Are you stalking me?” Death asked jokingly.

Root was about to answer when Death looked at the dead body.

“Wait a second, did you do this?” asked Death as she pointed towards the body.

Root looked a little reluctant to answer the question.

“Well not exactly… it was more of an accident.”

“Really, then why are his hands tied behind his back?”

Root paused for a second.

“I just wanted to see you again and I couldn't think of any other way.” Root finally admitted.

Death was a little taken aback by the confession. No one ever went out of their way to look her up. This was new to her.

“Why would you want to meet me?” She asked slowly.

Now Root was really struggling with an answer but she figured the truth would be enough.

“I… I kinda liked you the first time I saw you. So I just wanted to, you know, get to know you some more. And it’s not like I can just take your number and call you up.”

This time it was Death who didn’t know how to react. She had never been in a situation like this before. So she decided to handle it like a trained professional.

“Look, I appreciate the effort. But as you can see I’m sort of busy.” Death pointed towards Eddie’s soul which had started to wander around.

“So you can ask me one question and then I have to go. Alright?” Death knew that she was being a little abrupt but she needed to get out of there without being too rude.

Root knew that she wouldn’t have too much time with Death but this was quite sudden and all she had was one question. But she knew exactly what she wanted to ask.

“What’s your name?”

Of all the questions, that was one that Death least expected.

Root looked at Death, who looked lost in her memories as if she was trying to dig out some long buried treasure.

“Sameen. I was once called Sameen” Death replied softly.

“Sameen” Root spoke the name out loud, enjoying the sound of it, “That’s a nice name.”

“Thanks.” Death looked like she almost blushed, but it was too dark to tell. They stood there staring at each other awkwardly when a voice from behind Death ruined their moment.

“Hey, you got a nice ass, short stuff.” It was Eddie. Apparently even in death he hadn’t lost his charm.

And the moment was gone. Root was furious but Death just looked at her and whispered, “Don’t worry, he’s going to have a demon checking out his ass for the rest of eternity.”

Root chuckled.

“Bye” said Death. She knew that she had lingered there long enough and she needed to go.

“Can I see you again?” Root asked tentatively.

Death paused for a second and replied, “Why not.”

Root was overjoyed.

Death turned around. “Well come on then hot shot, how about I show a good time.”

Eddie jumped at the opportunity and quickly moved next to Death, who in that second transformed into this monstrous shadowy figure and before Eddie could react, it enveloped him and disappeared.

Even after they were gone, Root thought she could hear a distant scream. But it didn’t manage to dampen her spirits. She was happy, happier than she had ever been.

“Sameen” she repeated the name a quite a few time, loving the sound of it.

“Isn’t she great? I think she’s great.” Root said to Eddie, who was in no condition to agree or disagree with the statement.

A few minutes later Root realized that it was getting late so she packed up her stuff, got back in the car and drove off. Eddie’s body was left there all alone with the crickets while his soul was just getting through the induction ceremony in hell.

* * *

 

 

Root reached home close to one in the morning. She was tired but she had already started to plan her next project and also what she would ask Death when she met her next time. But she was truly tired because she was asleep the second her head touched her pillow.

Root once again dreamt of Death that night, who was named Sameen, and it made her smile.


	3. Chapter 3

Root pushed the thin blade through the dealer’s neck, severing the medulla oblongata, killing him instantly and painlessly. No sooner had she put the knife down that she heard a slightly irritated voice from behind.

“Is this going to be a regular thing with you?”

It was Death and she was pointing towards the dead dealer in the chair.

“Well… Hi” Root waved to her cheerfully.

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

“Well, this is just a means to an end.”

“And the end being?”

“Meeting you.” Root said matter-of-factly.

Death’s irritation dissipated. This was a completely new situation for her. Lots of people had tried to trap her before this, using various spells and magical bonds and they all had wanted something in return of letting her go. But this was new. She was standing in front of someone who just wanted to meet her for no other reason than talking to her and no matter how much she tried she found that she couldn’t stay angry at someone like that for too long.

As Death was lost in thought, Root turned around to put the knife back in its place. She wiped off the blood and put it back in its case. She heard a small cough behind her. She turned around to face Death who was looking a little embarrassed.

“Could I have one of those?” Death asked.

Root looked to where Death was pointing and it was the box of doughnuts that she had picked up on her way there. She immediately picked it up and rushed towards Sameen.

“Sure, which one would you like?” Root opened the lid and inside was a variety of doughnuts.

 Death picked one of the more simple looking ones. She gave a satisfied sigh as she bit into it.

Root was enjoying watching Death eat. It was a very surreal experience, not considering the fact that she was standing in front of Death, watching Death eat a doughnut.

“I am sorry for not offering you anything before but I didn’t know that you ate anything.”

“I don’t really need food for sustenance. But I do miss the taste of it. So I don’t mind indulging myself every now and again.” Death smiled as she enjoyed her dessert.

“You know the nice thing about being Death. I can eat as much as I want and I’ll never put on weight.”

Root chuckled.

“How long have you been around?” Root asked out of curiosity.

“Quite long. I was around when Caesar was stabbed. I was around when the Egyptians were still planning on building the pyramids, so yeah, a pretty long time.” Sameen grew quite as her mind went through all the things she had seen over the eons.

“Don’t you get lonely, doing all of this on your own?”

Death was surprised by the question. No one had ever asked her that before.

“Not really. This job keeps me very busy, so I don’t usually get the time to think about something like that.” Death knew that what she had just said was a bold faced lie, but she had never been very good at discussing her feelings.

Root realized that she might have accidently touched on a slightly sensitive topic. So they both sat in silence and ate the doughnuts and watch the dead drug dealer’s soul wander around the warehouse.

Death finished the last of the doughnuts and finally turned her attention towards the wandering soul.

“I should go now. Hell doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”

Root was a little sad that their meeting had come to an end. But she knew that Death had an important job and that this couldn’t last forever no matter how much she wanted it to.

“Bye.” Root said as she got off the bonnet.

Death had collected the soul and turned towards Root.

“I guess, since you’re not going to stop, I’ll see you next time.” Death smirked.

Root grinned like a maniac in return.

Death chuckled and disappeared.

* * *

 

 

They always say the first kill is the hardest but for Root her first kill had been when she was fifteen. So, even though Eddie wasn’t her first, he was her first in a very long time. Also Eddie couldn’t even be defined as a kill, he was more of a minor disaster. But every mistake teaches you something. From the disaster named Eddie, Root learnt that she should use a stronger dose of sedatives. After her second kill, nearly two weeks later, where she stood at that moment, Root learnt that she should dug a ditch before she killed the dealer.

Root spent another hour digging a ditch to bury the body. By the time she got home it was close to three in the morning and she was bone tired.

* * *

 

 

After a few more meetings with Death, Root finally settled down to her new routine. She would work in the daytime and scout for her targets in the night. She usually arranged for a meeting with Death once every two weeks because it was quite a bit of work setting thing up. Acquiring the key ingredient for the get together was always tricky.

Root had also started to map out the city’s surveillance system to find blind spots that she could use. She called them Dead Zones. It seemed like an appropriate name. She also had to dig the ditches before hand and make sure the meeting site was secure. She didn’t want be disturbed during whatever little time she had with Sameen.

She had also managed to get her hand on some chemicals that could accelerate the decomposition process. The whole process was time consuming and tiring but she enjoyed it, because at the end of it she got to spend time with the one she loved and that’s all that mattered.

The people who met her in those days, her neighbors and ex-colleagues, all said that she was a changed person. She looked happier than before. They would ask her if she was seeing someone and all Root ever replied was that she was in a long distance relationship, that it was the best thing that ever happened to her.

Root had also made the correct choice in the targets that she had picked. Even though people noticed that they had gone missing, they just didn’t care enough to go looking for them or even report it to the police. The only one of Root’s victims that was ever found was Eddie and that was because Root had left him out in the open and Root had a perfectly good reason for that too. She needed to know how secluded her hiding places were and how long would it take before anybody would locate Eddie and the answer to that was three weeks.

* * *

 

 

It was around the time when Root was scouting a suitable candidate for her third meeting that Eddie’s body was finally discovered by a couple of homeless men and their dog.

The two men had hiked a little way through the woods looking for a secluded location that they could call their own, where they could live without being bothered by civilization. They had considered themselves quite lucky when they stumbled onto the old warehouse, but not so lucky when they found Eddie. It was the dog that found him first and his barking attracted the two men to the body, the shorter one of whom promptly fainted after seeing the state of the remains, because to be honest what remained of Eddie wasn’t a pretty sight.

Eddie, in those three weeks, had mostly functioned as an all you can eat buffet for all manner of carrion birds, animals and insects and they had put that time to good use.

The tall man poured some water on his shorter companion to bring him back to the world of the conscious, after which they had a short argument as to what needed to be done.

The shorter one, named Leon, was all for leaving and never talking about it again. In his previous life he had been an investment banker and had had quite a few run-ins with the cops due to some fraudulent practices. After his incarceration and release he had been living on the streets and was in no hurry to talk to the cops anytime soon.

His friend understood his dilemma and asked him to leave. He figured he could handle this on his own, so he hiked back to civilization and managed to convince a couple of cops to accompany him to Eddie’s location. A few hours later the entire site was crawling with cops and the detectives had just arrived.

* * *

 

 

The car came to a halt about twenty meters away from the crime scene. There were members from the forensics dept. already studying the area and a young patrol cop was left to watch over the decaying body. A slightly rotund detective got out of the car and walked up to the cop.

“Hey, Laskey.” The detective greeted the young cop.

“Detective Fusco, I was hoping they would send you. Is it true, what I heard about Det. Carter?” Laskey asked.

Fusco looked a little lost for a second until realization dawned on his as to what Laskey was talking about.

“Yeah, Carter’s moving up in the world. She’s going to be a fed now. In fact, she left for her training two weeks ago.”

“So, you’re on your own right now?” Laskey inquired.

“No, I got assigned a new partner three days ago.”

Laskey looked behind Det. Fusco and saw his partner walking towards them.

“You got partnered with the terminator. Damn. Is it true what they said about her, that she took out an entire drug cartel hit squad on her own?” Laskey whispered. 

“I guess but most of her previous work is sealed. She did a lot of undercover stuff and she isn’t the sharing type. Just don’t call her Terminator to her face, unless you want to get shot.” Fusco whispered back.

 His new partner walked up to them.

“Detective Martine, this is Officer Laskey.” Fusco made the introductions.

All rational thoughts had left Laskey’s mind as he stood there gawking at Det. Martine. He hadn’t expected her to be this beautiful. Martine was used to this kind of attention from men and even sometimes from women, she didn’t mind it. But she was more interested in the decaying corpse than the gawking young cop.

“So what do have here, officer?” Martine asked pointing towards the cop.

Laskey snapped out of his trance and came back to the real world.

“Aaa… well,” He took a little bit of time to collect his thoughts, “Male, late twenties or early thirties. By the level of decomposition the Forensics guys were saying he’s been dead for about three weeks now.”

Martine nodded as she began to take down notes.

“Do we have an ID yet?” Fusco asked.

“We found a wallet in the bushes. No money but we do have a driver’s license. Edward Robertson. I can’t clearly make out the date of birth it’s a little worn out.”

 “Edward Robertson, the name’s familiar. Wait, Eddie Rods. This could be Eddie Rods. Show me license.”

Laskey handed the license over to Det. Fusco.

“Yup, that’s him. I can’t forget a weasely little face like that. But what’s he doing all the way out here?”

“You know him?” Martine turned her attention towards him.

“Yeah, he’s a small time dealer and junkie from downtown. He used to sell around this shop called “Ingram and Sons”. The area is controlled by the Russians, so in a way he was working for them.”

 At that moment they heard someone walk up behind them and they both turned around. Behind them was a shorter man wearing glasses and had a slight limp. Fusco smiled upon looking at him.

“Harold, long time.”

“Yes, Det. Fusco, it has been a while.” The man with the glasses replied in a very cultured and educated voice.

Det. Fusco turned towards his partner to make the formal introductions.

“Detective, this is Harold Finch. He has a small library uptown but more importantly he is an encyclopedia when it comes to crime in the city. He runs a blog called “The all-seeing Eye”. It’s quite good, actually it’s very good. Harold also works as a consultant for the police, sometimes. He has helped us out on numerous occasions.”

Harold smiled and extended his hand towards Det. Martine.

“At your service.”

“I have read you blog. It is very well researched” said Martine as she shook his hand, “So, do you have any information to share with us on this fellow here?” Martine asked as she pointed towards Eddie.

“You said his name was Eddie Rods?” Harold asked.

“Yeah” Fusco replied.

“There really isn’t much to share. He was an extremely small fish. No real ambitions or talent. He had been working the same corner for almost a decade.”

“Any enemies?” Martine inquired.

Harold smirked, “Try everybody. Any one he had had dealing with or he had sold to. The problem wasn’t that Mr. Robertson was a criminal, it’s that he was a liar and a cheat and that’s something that even criminals don’t like. So, yes, it could be almost anybody.”

Martine was lost in thought hearing those remarks. She was trying to run through variety scenarios that would lead Eddie to this place and she could only think of one that made any sense and then Fusco vocalized it.

“So, what are we thinking here, kidnapping gone wrong? Someone picked him up for drugs or money and brought him out here but Eddie got loose. He runs, trips and accidently stabs himself in the neck.”

“Sounds about right. Lets dig some more but I don’t think this is high priority by any standards.” Martine replied.

Fusco was about to nod in agreement when they heard some commotion. Everybody looked in the direction of the sound and they saw the homeless man was in a fight with one of the officers. He had somehow managed to snatch the cop’s baton and was threatening to hit him with it. The cop had his gun out and the dog looked about ready to rip the cop to shreds. The whole situation was on the brink of getting out of hand.

Martine had her hand on her weapon but Fusco motioned her to wait. He stepped forward and decided to talk to the homeless man.

“Hey, everybody calm down.” Fusco walked towards the man with both his hands raided slightly in the air, “Do you want to tell me what happened?”

The homeless man, still keeping the baton up, looked at Fusco and replied, “He kicked my dog.”

Fusco put his hands down and looked at the gin wielding cop, “You did what? Is this true?” He sounded a little pissed off.

“The dog was getting in my way” the officer replied sheepishly.

“So you kicked it. Are you a fucking animal? Now put that gun away and get out of here.” Fusco shouted at him.

The officer quietly holstered his weapon and walked away with his head down. The homeless man also lowered the baton. Fusco walked up to him.

“Look, I am sorry about that. He’s an idiot. You did a good thing calling the cops so I don’t want you to think badly of us. Not all of us are idiots like that one.”

The homeless man nodded. Fusco took out a fifty dollar note and told him get a nice meal and some warm clothes for the approaching winter. The man thanked him.

Sometime later Fusco and Martine left after carrying out a preliminary investigation. Harold asked them if he could stick around and get a few pictures for his blog. Neither of the detectives had any issues with it.

Once the place had quieted down a bit Harold approached the homeless man who had decided that he might as well spend the night there. The warehouse had enough roofing to provide some warmth.

“Hello, I’m Harold Finch.” said Harold.

The homeless man looked surprised that this well dressed man wanted to talk to him.

“Hi” he replied shyly.

“I was wondering if I could talk to you for a second.”

The man just nodded a yes in reply.

“Back there, I saw you take that cops baton. You seem to have some skill in unarmed combat. May I ask where you learnt that?”

The man thought about answering, wondering why this bespectacled man was interested in him. But he seemed polite and decent so the man replied.

“I used to be the military. I did a couple of tours in Afghanistan and even one in Iraq. That’s where I got my training. It’s just that things haven’t been very good since I got back.” He said hesitatingly. Not sure what the man wanted.

“You see the reason I asked was that I might have the need for a man with your set of skills. I run this blog about crime and criminals and sometimes some of the people I write about come looking for me. At those times I could use somebody with your particular skill set. Besides I also run a library and I could definitely use a hand with that. Would you be interested in something like that?” Harold explained his situation.

The homeless man was stumped. After everything that had happened today, a job offer was the last thing he expected.

“Yeah, Yeah, I’m I.. sure.” The man stammered as he was still trying to come to terms with this sudden reversal of fortunes, “I used to be pretty good. I can be good again with some practice.”

“Good.” Harold took out his visiting card and a couple of hundred dollar notes from his wallet, “Take this as an advance on your salary. Get cleaned up, get some good clothes and come to the library tomorrow morning at nine. We’ll talk about your salary then. Alright?”

“Yeah sure. Thank you, I won’t let you down.”

“It’s alright. I needed an assistant anyways.” Harold smiled back at him.

As they walked back to Harold’s car, the man asked, “Why are you helping me? You don’t even know me.”

“Because I think everybody deserves a second chance in life and you looked like you could use one right about now. After all, we all need a purpose.”

“Thank you” those were the only words the homeless man could come up with, unable to truly express the depth of his gratitude.

“Come one, I’ll give you a ride back to the city. You wouldn’t want to be late for your first day of work?” Harold said jokingly.

So they all got in the car. The dog got in the back seat.

As they were about to drive away, Harold looked at the man and asked him, “I never asked you your name.”

“It’s John, John Reese, and that’s Bear.” He said pointing towards the dog who barked a reply.

“A pleasure to meet you Mr. Reese” and they drove off towards the city.

* * *

 

 

The investigation into Eddie’s death didn’t go anywhere. None of the people the detectives interviewed had seen anything or anyone suspicious or at least the ones who were willing to talk to them. After a couple of weeks the case was put on the backburner and eventually written off as unsolved.

The detectives took a long time to see the pattern among the missing persons because no one was in any hurry to report missing dealers and pimps. But word had starting to spread on the streets that something was amiss.

* * *

 

 

By the time Root got to her fifth kill she had decided to move to a neighboring city. She figured that spreading out the kills over a large geographic area would create lesser suspicion. Root had also taken to experimenting with her methods of killing. Around her seventh kill she had started to get fascinated with poisons and chemicals. However, her current concoction was having a really unexpected side effect.

Root had injected the pimp with a large dose of her home made recipe. The man, even though unconscious, had started to shake and tremble uncontrollably. Pretty soon the convulsions got so violent that the metal chair which had been bolted to the floor looked like it was about to be ripped off the ground. The man’s eyes shot open and they were blood red. The veins in his eyes had formed a red spider web over his eyeballs. His eyes looked as if they might pop out of their sockets. Root instinctively stepped back, scared and fascinated at the same time. Soon after the man opened his mouth in a scream but no sound came out. His entire body was now straining against his restraints. Root took out her gun, which she had taken from one of her previous victims, just to be on the safe side. A few seconds later a sound came out of his mouth that sounded like a deflating balloon and he finally died. But that wasn’t the end of it. A second after his entire body slumped into the chair, he started to bleed from every hole in his body. He was even bleeding from his eyes. Root looked on in horror and wonder at her own doing when she heard a familiar voice speak.

“What the fuck, Root. What did you do this time?” it was Death and it too was staring at the body in fascination.

“I don’t know, I think I screwed up the proportions.” Root replied, a little embarrassed by the mess.

“You think. It looks like his heart and almost every vein in his body exploded. I must admit though I haven’t seen anything quite like it.”

“Really,” Root said with a level of pride that was unbecoming considering what had just transpired, “Well, just wait till you see what I’ve planned next.”

Sameen shook her head in disbelief. She had rarely met anyone this crazy and yet she had to admit to herself grudgingly that she liked this tall psychopath. But then in her line of work who else could she have met.

Root offered Death a cheese burger and they both settled down to their usual conversations about murder and junk food.

* * *

 

 

“Wait, so you aren’t the only Death?” Root interrupted Death’s explanation.

“As I was trying to explain if you would let me,” Sameen was a little irritated with the interruption and Root thought Death looked really cute when she was irritated. “I am Death for all of humanity and if one day humans spread out across the stars then I would still be their Death. Every sentient species across the universe has a Death assigned to them.”

“So is there like a, you know, a Death Death, The big boss?” Root was fascinated by all this information.

“Yes there is. I have an immediate boss, the one who chose and trained me. His name is Hersh and then we have DEATH who oversees and controls everything and it is very appropriately called CONTROL.”

“Wow, this is all very fascinating. I never knew it was this complicated.”

“Well, it is and you don’t make my job any easier.” Sameen mocked her affectionately.

Root smiled shyly, “I’m sorry but I can’t help it. I don’t think I would survive too long if I didn’t get to see you.” Root voice trailed off as she tried to put in words how she felt about Sameen but couldn’t find the right words.

Sameen just smiled back at her, as even she was at a loss of words.

* * *

 

 

As the weeks turned to months, Root and Death fell into a routine. Their meeting started to feel more and more like dates. Root kept experimenting with her methods of killing. They ranged from instantaneous to extremely violent. In the meantime, Death started to teach Root some of her skills especially the ones to become invisible and navigate the shadows.

“Look you just have to be careful though. The Shadow Realm is pure chaos, remain in it for too long and you will slowly start to lose your mind. What am I saying? You should feel completely at home there.” Sameen affectionately made fun of her favorite psychopath.

Root peeked out of the shadows, “Hey, not fair. I am doing this all for you.” And she disappeared again into the shadows.

Death looked around the warehouse when suddenly Root suddenly popped out of the shadows next to her and kissed her on the cheek.

“Hey. Not cool.” Sameen whirled around but Root was already gone and all she heard was Root’s laughter.

“Alright if that’s how you want to play.”

Death took on its true form and gently touched its scythe to the floor. Everything came to a standstill in the warehouse and there was a sudden inrush of what felt like air being sucked in towards the staff. But instead of air, all the shadows in the warehouse started to get drawn in towards the staff. As the shadows approached Death, they finally revealed Root and she fell into Death’s arms.

Sameen grabbed hold of her and smiled at her.

“If you are going to kiss me then at least do it properly.”

And so Death kissed the maiden.

 

Root spent the rest of the week with a silly little grin on her face.

* * *

 

 

By the time Root was close to finishing her tenth kill, she had become quite adept at navigating the shadow realm. She also found out that things didn’t weigh as much in that realm and that she could literally pick her victims up and dump them into the warehouse once she had rendered them unconscious.

But the shadow realm was different, like Death had said. It wasn’t just chaos, there were things there that Root had caught glimpses of, things which looked like they were all sharp claws and teeth and oddly constructed. They whispered in her ear, told her things. Things that would have driven a normal person mad, but Root felt right at home. She felt accepted and they seemed to like her too.

The longer Root stayed in the shadow realm, the more it changed her. She grew pale. Her eyes were somehow darker. They seemed like they would soak up all the light in the room. People couldn’t hold her gaze for too long, as if what they saw in them seemed to unnerve them. It also felt like she was disconnected from this reality. Sometimes if she stood in the shadows, people wouldn’t even notice that she was there. She had also started to avoid direct sunlight, she just preferred the dark. She felt like she had found a home she never knew she was looking for.

* * *

 

 

But soon she found herself running short of funds. Her freelancing wasn’t paying her enough to keep this exercise going. She needed to get some cash and fast and she knew exactly how to get it. She had to move further up the food chain. To the ones who controlled the money.

She started to scour through “The all-seeing eye” and soon found a couple of potential targets. The first one was a Russian gun runner named Peter Yogorov. He liked to party and was a hard drinker. On Tuesdays, he would pick up his delivery of guns and cash and transported it in his Porsche. He usually had a couple of duffel bags in his trunk which contained the merchandise and the cash. He would be an easy target. The other one was an enforcer for a new local gang called The Brotherhood. The enforcer picked up a weekly payment delivery every Thursday. He was a big guy and he usually travelled with a couple of other guys, both heavily armed. He would be a lot tougher to take down but Root liked a challenge.

* * *

 

 

Peter Yogorov was the first one she decided to hit. He was a man of set routines, comfortable in the fact that no one in their right mind would try to touch him. Root most definitely wasn’t of the right mind. Every Tuesday after picking up his delivery he would go straight home. He would have a couple of guys outside his house, but inside he would be all alone.

Root scoped out the place for a week to understand the patterns and to also check out the layout of the place within the shadow realm, so she would know exactly where to come out. The distances and locations within the shadow world didn’t always correspond to the real world, so she had to be sure.

The night went pretty much as planned. Peter Yogorov had had too much to drink and had readily passed out fully clothed on his bed. Root lifted him off his bed and disappeared back into the shadows. After she had dropped him off in the warehouse, she came back to pick up the duffel bags.

Peter Yogorov died without ever regaining consciousness. That was a very good death for him, considering all the things that he had done in his life. Apparently Peter had had so much to drink that even soul was drunk and hadn’t even realized that he was dead. It just decided to lie next to the body and promptly went off to sleep again.

Sameen had shown up as usual and was surprised to find she collected the soul.

“Root, he isn’t like one of your usuals. This guy is popular in his circles. They will come looking for him” She sounded concerned.

“Sameen, I didn’t know you cared.” Root smiled mischievously.

Death just stared back at her with dead eyes.

“I needed money. It’s not cheap to arrange these meeting, you know, besides his people don’t even know who to look for.” Root sat down and opened the duffel bags to check the contents.

The first one was full of money. She had no interest in counting it at the moment. The second bag was a lot more interesting. There was more variety of guns in there that she had ever seen in her life. But what surprised her was the axe she found at the bottom of the bag.

It wasn’t even an ordinary axe. This was more like a Viking battle axe. It was double axe with ornate carving and a spike adorning the top. Root lifted it to check the weight, and was surprised to find that she could handle it quite well. She tried a few moves with it as Death looked on, amused.

“I think this guy was also dealing with Vikings.” Root grinned at Sameen and she leaned on the axe.

“Just be careful, you’re starting to take chances.” Death warned Root and left with Peter’s soul.

Root knew that Death was right, but she was still going to go ahead with her plan. Even though after getting her hands on Peter’s stash she had enough money but she figured a little more money wouldn’t hurt. But if she was being truthful the only reason she was going after the next guy was purely for the thrill of it. She just wanted to know if she could take him.

* * *

 

 

The Brotherhood’s enforcer was a tough guy. He was well over six feet and looked very formidable. He was also smart. That’s why his true identity was known to very few. To a majority of his crew he was Mini, just a mid-level enforcer, the guy who would handle the deliveries and take care of the payments. It was only Link and a couple of other who knew that he was in fact Dominic, the mastermind behind The Brotherhood. The anonymity gave him a certain amount of freedom and also provided safety from the cops.

Of late, things had been going well for Dominic. Elias had disappeared after their last run in with each other and after his disappearance the other gangs had fallen in line. He was now the de facto ruler of the criminal underworld in the city. This was what he had always wanted, he had always deserved. For once in his life he was rethinking his philosophy, everyone does dies in the end, but maybe he could live longer than everyone else. It was just that fate and Root had other plans.

 

Dominic had picked up the bulk of the cash from a local Laundromat close to midnight. He had two guys with him for security. Mini always said that you could never be too sure of what waited for you in the shadows and that night he was absolutely right. There was something waiting in the shadows, it just wasn’t what he expected.

He was sitting in the back seat of the Range Rover with his crew in the front. He was on his way to his house when the car just came to a halt in the middle of a deserted patch of road. He called out to his men but there was no response. He suddenly felt something move next to him but he couldn’t quite make out in the darkness of the car. He reached for his gun when he felt a sharp sting in his stomach. He looked down and saw a tranquilizer dart sticking out of his stomach. He was about to reach for it when he got hit by another one in his shoulder. He began to lose consciousness. He turned his head in the direction of the shots and saw a woman’s face smiling back at him and incredibly enough she was sitting right next to him.

The last thought in his mind before he passed out was, “Where the fuck did she come from?”

* * *

 

 

Dominic woke up sometime later. He looked around and saw that he was in, what looked like an abandoned warehouse. Some part of the roof was gone and he could see the stars through it. He mind was racing, trying to figure out what was going on. A multitude of questions were rising in him mind like,

Who had come after him?

Was it Elias?

Had someone in his own gang betrayed him?

And more importantly,

Who was that woman in his car?

He never got the answers to any of those questions except the last one.

He tried to move but found that he was tied to a metal chair which had been bolted to the concrete floor below. His hands were tied behind his back. He struggled with his restraints and his restraints started cutting through his skin as he struggled.

“I know you’re strong, but unless you want to slit your own wrists and bleed to death I would suggest you stop struggling. I’ve tied you up with razor wire.”

Dominic looked in the direction of the voice. In the little bit of moonlight streaming in through the broken roof he could make out the shape of a tall woman leaning against one of the support columns. She turned and looked at him and smiled. As she started to walk towards him he realized that she was the same woman he had seen in his car and he still had no idea how she got in there. He also noticed something odd about her. He couldn’t quite make out her feet. It was like they were always shrouded in shadows, as if the shadows didn’t want to let go of her. It unnerved him, but he put on a brave face.

“What the fuck do you want?” He asked angrily.

“Your money, but I already have it.” The woman replied, still smiling.

The woman seemed a bit unhinged to Dominic. He was starting get worried. He tried to keep intimidating her.

“You have no idea who you’re messing with, bitch. You better kill me, because if I get out here I am going to find you and then I’m going to make you wish you were dead.”

The woman just grinned in return, “Well your death can definitely be arranged. What is it that you keep telling your friends, in the end everyone dies? Well, guess what this is the end for you.”

Dominic heard a scraping sound and saw that the woman was holding a double sided axe in her right hand. It was strange that he hadn’t noticed it earlier. He instinctively tried to move back.

The woman noticed the movement and chuckled, “Oh, don’t worry, this isn’t for killing you.” She was referring to the axe, “This is for later. I might have to chop you up, it might make disposal easier. You are big guy after all.”

Dominic stared at her in horror. This couldn’t be happening to him, he thought.

“You see, you’re already dead. I injected you with a poison, one of my favorite recipes. It should start affecting you any second now.”

And as if on cue, Dominic felt a strange tingling sensation in his extremities. He was beginning to feel faint. He felt his nose starting to water and even his eyes were watering. He just didn’t know that he was actually bleeding. He suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest and his body went rigid. He struggled to breathe and his heart began to beat erratically.

As his body started to shut down he had only one thought running through his mind, “It can’t end like this.”

Root kept looking and a less than a minute later the big guy breathed his last. She saw his soul standing next to his body and it looked furious.

Death showed up momentarily.

“He looks angry. Let me tie him up, I think he might try and run.” Sameen said as she looked at Dominic and then she waved her hand and Dominic was suddenly covered in a strange box which then began to fold in on itself with Dominic inside it. Root could hear the soul inside yelling but soon the box was no bigger than a cell phone. Sameen picked it up and put it in her pocket.

Root was beginning to feel like she had made a mistake. She just didn’t know what it was, but she had been having that feeling ever since she had picked up Mini. She turned towards Death.

“Sameen, can read a soul’s life.”

“Of course.”

“Could you read his?”

“Sure, but why?” Death asked.

“I don’t know, I’m just curious, there was something about the way in which he threatened me. I felt like I was missing something, like I didn’t know the big picture.”

 Death took out the box and held it in its palm and closed its eyes. When they opened they looked a little worried.

“What? Did I screw up?”

Death sighed.

“I think screwed up might be the understatement of the year.”


	4. Chapter 4

The two African American men sat in the diner finishing their meal. The older man ate, confident and relaxed in the knowledge that they were in their own neighborhood and nothing could harm them here. The younger man didn’t share his confidence.

It was close to midnight and the younger one seemed ill at ease. He seemed distracted. He was continuously tapping his feet and playing with what little remained of his burger and fries. The older man was still eating and the constant tapping was starting to get on his nerves. He, finally, decided that he’d had enough of it and slammed his hand on the table. This sudden interruption jolted the younger man back to reality.

“Kenny, do you think I could finish my apple pie in peace? I don’t think I need you to tap dance while I’m eating.” The older man growled.

“Sorry Jacob, didn’t mean to disturb you. It’s just that with everything that’s happened, I’m you know… a little worried.”

Kenneth had known Jacob since he was a kid. Jacob was a career criminal. In his forties now, he’d done three stints in prison for crimes ranging from grand theft to assault and battery. He had been a suspect in various homicides but none of them had ever been proven. He had also been part of one gang or another for a majority of his life. Over the years he had known a string of ambitious men who had wanted to rule the city and he always knew which one to follow. But he was only loyal till a point. He had always known when to switch sides without it looking like betrayal. Usually that point came right after someone would put a bullet in his current boss. That was what had led him to join the Brotherhood. It was Link who had shot his previous master and had made him a simple offer, either he could join his boss or join them. It was the simplest decision Jacob had ever made.

 

Kenneth had joined the Brotherhood a few months after Jacob had come on board. Jacob had known Kenny’s father before he was sent to prison for life and he had promised that he would take care of his son. Kenny wasn’t a smart kid and by the age of nineteen everyone knew that he had very few prospects. But, he was good at taking orders and executing them and sometimes that was all that was expected. He also had no problems with pulling a trigger. Both those qualities made him a good low-level soldier. Jacob had recommended his name to Link and Link had accepted and for a while things had been good. In fact, things had been very good and why wouldn’t they be. Ever since their boss had defeated Elias, who had then disappeared, they controlled the city.

But all that sense of power and superiority had completely vanished since Dominic’s disappearance nearly ten days ago. Now all they were left with was a continuous sense of dread and uncertainty which was what Jacob could see reflected in Kenny.

“It’s been ten days now and we still have nothing...  and then there’s Darryl.” Kenny whispered to Jacob worried that someone might hear his thoughts.

“Kenny, you have to stop doing this to yourself. You’re panicking for no reason. There is no boogeyman out there hunting us.”

Kenny looked around to make sure that they were indeed out of earshot of the rest of the patrons.

“But I’m telling you man, it happened. One minute Darryl was there and then shadows and then nothing. He was just… gone. Maybe that’s what happened to Dominic too.”

“And you saw with your own eyes.” Jacob asked.

“No, but Zeke was there, he saw everything. He told me. He said he heard Darryl empty his entire clip into a dark alley and by the time Zeke got there, there was nothing. No Darryl, no gun, no body, nothing.”

“God damn it Kenny, Zeke’s a fucking coke head. Most days he can’t tell the difference between a dog and a car. Do you know he tried to shove his car keys into a dog’s ass trying to start it, thinking that was his car? For all he knows, Darryl could have been abducted by aliens.” Jacob rolled his eyes in disapproval. He expected more common sense from his friend’s son.

But Kenny was in no mood to listen to reason.

“But, what about the Russians, and all those pimps and dealers? People have been talking. I’m telling you man there’s something out there.”

To Jacob, Kenny was beginning to sound like a conspiracy nut. He might as well have been telling Jacob that he saw Big Foot in the city.

“Kenny, you don’t need a boogeyman for any of this stuff. I could just be Elias. I’m telling you, Dominic should have killed him when he had the chance and now he’s back for revenge. Dominic’s gone, the Russians are losing people. It could be time to jump ship again.”

Kenny knew he wouldn’t be able to convince Jacob so he remained silent. Once Jacob had finished his pie, they paid and left the diner. They both lived not too far from each other so they were walking back home together and Kenny was grateful for that. He wouldn’t admit it to anyone, because it might make him look weak, but he was terrified.

The diner was usually open all night and by the time they left, it was mostly occupied by the usual night time patrons. Jacob and Kenny knew most of them and they waved their goodnights to everyone as they left for home. It was a little over half past midnight and there were a fair few people outside the diner, some of them working and some just hanging around. But as Kenny and Jacob made their way down the street the crowd started to thin out. By the time they were a few blocks away they were completely alone. Even though it was a trip that Kenny had made since he was a kid, considering the events of the past few weeks, Kenny was beginning to grow increasingly nervous.

The streets were lined with a few trees and the sidewalks were littered with garbage. Occasionally they would step on a broken bottle or accidently kick a can. The sounds generated were amplified in the empty street. Kenny was starting to get extremely jumpy. Every single sound, even the occasional rustling of the leaves, would cause him to panic. To him it felt as if behind every darkened window and in every alley way, there were monsters lying in wait to drag him into the abyss. Strangely enough he wasn't too far from the truth.

Jacob, on the other hand, was completely oblivious to Kenny’s increasing paranoia. Kenny had never been this glad for the company, but the companionship wasn’t meant to be. Soon they reached a crossroads where their ways would part. Kenny’s house was just across the road to the left and Jacob had to travel through an alley on the right to get to his house.

Kenny very reluctantly waved goodnight to Jacob and increased his pace to get to his front door. Even though the streets were lined with street lights not all of them functioned, but luckily the one in front of Kenny’s house worked just fine. Kenny could see his front door lit up by the warm glow of the street light and with every step the doorway grew larger. It welcomed him like a lover waiting to take him in her warm embrace. Kenny's walk turned into a run and at last Kenny reached his doorway. He had never felt so relieved in his entire life.

Kenny laughed a little at how paranoid he had gotten and chided himself for letting his imagination getting the better of him. Just as he was about to enter the safety of his own home, He turned towards his right to see if he could still spot Jacob and he could. Jacob had just reached the entrance of the alley that led to his house. But just as Jacob turned into the alley the street light next to it went out. Kenny’s paranoia returned, but he told himself that these neighborhoods were poorly managed by the local govt. and that streets went out regularly. But then something else happened.

Kenny began to notice the shadows starting to move. It made no sense to him. It was as if they were built of fluid and they all collectively began to flow into the alley after Jacob. Kenny didn’t know what to do. A part of him screamed that he should just open the door and get inside his house, but Jacob was his friend and Kenny chose to be brave instead.

Jacob had just entered the alley when the light behind him went out. It didn’t bother him as much. Jacob knew these streets better than the back of his hand and he didn’t need a light to get home. He paused for a bit to let his eyes acclimate to the dark. Just as he was about to start walking again, he heard something move next to him. He turned to see what it was when he heard something move behind him. He turned around and to his surprise was faced with a wall of darkness. He couldn’t see the street anymore. He felt something brush past him and finally Jacob began to panic. He pulled out his gun and put the safety off and pointed it in front of him. He whirled around to see if he could see anyone but there was nobody there. Then the voices started. Strange whispers came from the shadows. They spoke to him and about him. They knew his darkest secrets and his greatest fears. They talked about all the things he had done and the things they would like to do to him. The chattering in the shadows grew louder and Jacob could catch glimpses of the things that hid in the shadows. They somehow didn’t seem right, like they shouldn’t exist. They looked like the fevered imagination of a very twisted mind and they were moving towards him.

Jacob had had enough. He opened fire and hit nothing. The shadows kept advancing. It was then he felt another presence in the dark and a strangely beautiful voice spoke out.

“Don’t worry, they won’t hurt you. Not unless I tell them to.” It was a woman’s voice and she sounded amused.

Jacob wasn’t amused. He trained his gun in the direction of the voice and fired. By now his panic had reached a fever pitch and he emptied his entire magazine into the shadows.

The shadows went silent for a moment as the sound of gunfire echoed through the alley but it returned with an even greater ferocity. Jacob began to feel like he was caught in a nightmare and he decided to make a run for it, but just as he was about to start a figure stepped out of the dark. It was a woman, dressed in jeans and leather jacket and she smiled at him.

“That was excellent shooting, but can’t really kill shadows” saying that the woman shot him with a taser.

Jacob’s body went rigid with the shock and the woman kept smiling, a very unhinged smile.

Kenny heard the gunfire and increased his pace. He was running as fast as he could, trying to reach the dark alley and just as he reached the entrance he saw the shadows come to life. Jacob was lying on the ground, unconscious and he was surrounded by shadows that seemed to be pulling him in. There were claws reaching out from the darkness to drag him into their world and watching all of this was a woman and then she saw him.

She looked right at him as smiled. Her eyes glowed slightly but then a hundred other glowing eyes opened in the shadows and they all saw him. Kenny was about to scream but the woman lifted a finger to her lips and his scream never left his throat. He was frozen in his place. The shadows began to advance upon him but then the woman spoke.

“No, leave him be. We already have what we need, maybe next time.”

And as if on her command all the shadows immediately retreated and covered the woman and in an instant they were gone and so was Jacob.

Kenny was still frozen in his place when the street lights came back on. He was shaking and only thought went through his mind.

“Zeke was right. The boogeyman is real and it’s a woman.”

 

* * *

 

 

The knife moved once again, as it had moved before, through the base of the neck with cold and deadly precision. The kill was quick, death near instantaneous. It had been nearly a month since Dominic and Root was eager to see Sameen again. But the delay had been necessary. Root needed to ensure that she had the key ingredient in store and needed additional equipment to keep things safe and secure. But now it was all done and she waited impatiently for Death’s arrival. She heard a sound behind her and turned.

“I thought you were going to lay low for while?” Sameen asked as she collected the soul.

“I was laying low. But I missed you.” Root smiled.

“You’re going to get yourself killed, Root.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve taken precautions.” Root grinned slyly.

Death looked at her curiously and then noticed a truck with a large container attached to it parked in the warehouse.

“What’s in the truck, Root?” Death asked suspiciously.

“Nothing, just supplies. You want some doughnuts.” Root was trying to divert Sameen’s attention from the truck. But Death isn’t easily distracted.

Sameen vanished and appeared next to the truck. Root ran the distance to catch up to her. Just as she reached Sameen opened the container doors.

“Root, what is the hell have you done?” Death looked at the contents of the container and asked.

Inside the container were six men strapped down on metal beds. They were all unconscious with an IV drip that was feeding them intravenously. The drip also contained a sedative to ensure that none of them woke up before they were needed. There were tubes sticking in other places to ensure that it didn't get messy. Root had indeed spent the last month picking up a lot of new skills. It looked like a scene from a horror film.

“It’s nothing. They’re just supplies, so that I don’t have to go out hunting every few weeks. It’s really dangerous out there on the streets right now.”

“And whose fault is that?” Death was starting to sound a little angry.

Root just grinned sheepishly.

“Root, this is insane. You can’t just go about kidnapping people.”

“It’s fine, they’re all bad guys. No one’s going to miss them. Besides I’ll make sure they die painlessly.” Root replied nonchalantly.

“Root can’t you see how crazy you sound right now. These are people not cattle.”

“You didn’t have a problem with it before.” Root was beginning to get a little angry herself.

“Because at first I thought it was cute that someone was willing to go to that extent just to meet me. But now you’re really starting to lose your mind.”

“But I’m doing this for you. How else can I see you?” Root sounded defensive.

“Root this is wrong and you know it. But if you can’t see that yourself, then I can’t sit down and try to explain to you how nuts all of this is.”

“But… I like you. I’m doing all of this for you.” Root repeated herself sounding a little desperate.

Sameen knew that it would be impossible to reason with Root and besides she was needed in other places.

“Root, I can’t do this, I need to go. I have a job to do.” Her tone was colder than she intended it to be. But she couldn’t stand there and watch this person that she liked descend into madness. 

So, saying that Death vanished, leaving a heart broken Root behind.

Root was still looking at the place where Sameen last stood.

“But, I thought you liked me.”

She stood there and kept repeating those same words over and over again. She couldn’t understand why Sameen was mad at her. Those people were nothing more than supplies. They were just a means to an end. She loved her, how could Sameen not see that.

Feeling depressed and distraught Root went about the job of disposing off the body. She promised herself that she would make it up to Sameen next time. She would get her something fancy to eat, that would make Sammen like her again.

Root liked her plan and the more she thought about it the happier she felt. She told herself that this was just a minor issue and the next time they meet everything would be fine.

 

* * *

 

The room was littered with dead bodies. There was blood splatter on the walls and pools of dried blood on the floor. There were shell casing strewn across the floor like glitter. The cops and the forensic teams were going about their jobs trying to identify the bodies and the cause of their demise, even though that wasn’t going to be a very difficult thing to do.

Fusco was climbing up the eight flights of stairs to get to the scene of the crime, it was on days like these that he wished that he was in better shape or that all buildings had a working elevator. Martine was already upstairs checking out the crime scene.

Eventually, after much huffing and puffing Fusco managed to get to the top of the rundown building. He took out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat off his brow as he made his way into the room.

“Holy fuck, what the hell happened here? This is like a friggin’ war zone.” Fusco commented as he laid his eyes on the scene of destruction. Martine looked at him and grinned. She scared him a bit considering how much she enjoyed violence. But she was also a good detective and knew how to close cases.

“So, what do we have?” Fusco asked Martine who was back to taking some notes.

“Looks like nine bodies. We had three survivors that were taken to the hospital. The news from the hospital is that at least one of them won’t make till tomorrow, multiple gunshots to the torso and legs, and another one is in critical condition. The third one might be in a condition to talk in a couple of days.”

Fusco started to look at the bodies to see if he could identify any of them.

“These guys look like The Brotherhood and from the tattoos of the other guys, they are definitely Russians. Is there a war going on that we aren’t aware off? This is the third time this month they have had an altercation.” He stopped talking for a while as if he was trying to connect the dots in his mind. “You think this could have something to do with those missing persons we been hearing about.”

“I don’t know. That could be one of the reasons, but I think we are missing something even bigger” Martine replied.

  After a little while, they both made their way out of the building after they had spoken with the forensics team and the other cops. The building itself was pretty rundown and the few residents that remained were hardly the talkative sort. The rest of the building was used by various smaller gangs to run their operations. Most of those had disappeared after the shootout.

Fusco had instructed the cops to take statements of any of the residents that were willing to talk. He knew it was an exercise in futility but it had to be done. You never know what information one might get.

Just as they exited the building, Martine noticed that Harold Finch and a tall man in a suit were waiting for them by their car. The tall man looked vaguely familiar but she couldn’t quite place him.

Harold limped forward and greeted them both as the detectives approached them.

“Detective Rousseau, a pleasure to meet you, I wish we were meeting under less violent circumstances.”

Martine shook his outstretched hand and smiled in return.

“What are you doing down here Finch. Shouldn’t you be upstairs taking photos and notes?” Fusco inquired.

“I wish I could” Harold smiled and pointed towards his leg. “I’ll send my associate up later. By the way allow me to introduce Mr. John Reese. He’s my new assistant. He’s been helping me out with the library and the blog.” Harold said as he pointed towards his partner.

The tall man stepped forward and smiled shyly as if he wasn’t used to human company. Martine and Fusco politely smiled in return.

At Harold stepped in a little closer and spoke softly, “But that’s not why I’m here, Detectives. I think I might finally know the reason for all this gang violence that the city’s been witnessing off late.”

They both looked at him with a sudden rise in interest.

“But not here, let’s go some place where there aren’t so many police officers.”

“Why, do you suspect anyone?” Fusco asked.

“No one in particular but I would like to give this information to you two alone. Then you can decide if you want to share it with your superiors and other colleagues.” Harold answered.

“Fair enough, you drive and we’ll follow.”

They all got in their respective cars and a little while later were having coffee in a local diner.

“Alright, so what do you know, Finch?” Fusco continued the conversation they had started at the crime scene.

Harold sat there for a while in silence, staring at his tea. He was trying to figure out exactly where to start.

“I don’t know where it all begins but I think I know the tipping point.”

Everyone kept staring at him in silence waiting for him to continue.

“About a month back, maybe a little more, two people disappeared. One of those you both know, Peter Yogorov, Weapons dealer and gun runner for the Russian mob. He ran their entire weapons trade for the east coast.”

“Yeah, I knew him, been trying to nail that son of a bitch for years.” Fusco interjected.

Harold smiled a little and continued.

“The other was a mid-level enforcer for The Brotherhood named Mini and that’s where the trouble starts.”

“Why? Why would anyone be bothered about some glorified thug?” asked Martine.

“Because, and this took a lot of digging to find out, Mini wasn’t just an enforcer for the brotherhood. He was a lot more. In fact he was the leader.”

The Detectives kept staring at him as if he had lost his mind. Harold took out a piece of paper and began to write on it. The detectives leaned across the table to see what he was writing. He wrote the words MINI and then started to add letters before and after it. He added “DO” to the start and “C” at the end.

“Mini was the hidden leader of the Brotherhood. Mini was Dominic.”

There was pin drop silence at the table. Martine and Fusco had no idea how to react. This was way more than anything that they had expected.

“So you’re saying that someone took out Dominic and this is what, retaliation.” Fusco asked Harold.

Harold remained quiet for a while before he answered.

“I don’t think so.”

“Then what?” asked Lionel curiously.

 “I am assuming that you are aware of the other disappearances within the various gang territories, right?”

Martine nodded her head.

“Yes, but we just assumed it was to do with the gangs going at each other.” Martine expressed her views on the matter.

“I don’t think so. I think there might be more to it than that. I haven’t found a lot to go on because no one has seen anything. But maybe you the two of you might have more success than me.”

“You think they are connected.” Martine said.

“I think they are, I just don’t know how. But I think it didn’t start with Peter Yogorov and Dominic. It probably started much before that. I think there’s somebody out there, someone who’s targeting criminals.”

“You mean, like a vigilante.” Fusco commented.

“Maybe, I’m not entirely sure, Detective Fusco. But I think you two should definitely start looking into this.” Harold suggested.

The Detectives knew that Harold was on to something. It lined up with what Martine had suspected that all the disappearances were somehow connected. They just had no idea how far back it all went and how Dominic tied into it. But maybe it was time to find out.

 

* * *

 

Most investigations into unsolved cases are slow going. One day can roll into another which can turn into weeks and there might be nothing to show for it. Lionel and Martine had managed to convince their captain to give them some amount of breathing room on the matter but even they were finding it hard to be motivated. Add to that the fact that no one was actually willing to talk about the missing given their chosen professions made their jobs even more difficult.

In the meantime, Root had come down with a bad case of cough and cold. All those days spent in damp and cold warehouses had finally started to have its effect. Root had decided to take some time off and just be on her own, while at the same time, the detectives slowly and painstakingly tried to paint the big picture.

 And after weeks of toiling on a seemingly fruitless mission the big picture finally started to emerge for the detectives and it wasn’t pretty. They had close to a dozen missing if not more. They were mostly low level drug dealers, pimps and other assorted criminals. The detectives agreed that whoever had painted this picture was really smart. The person had picked targets that no one would ever report missing which had made their job even more difficult.

“I think we are still missing something here.” Fusco remarked.

Martine looked up from her desk. It was late and night and they were both tired but they were finally close to making sense of this.

“What makes you say that?”

“I don’t know. It’s these gaps we have between the cases. Like after every three or four we get a month or two of nothing, why?” Fusco asked. It was a question that had been bothering them both.

Martine’s eyes suddenly lit up. Lionel realized that she probably had a theory.

“What if our hunter is moving to other cities? He kills a few here and then to not raise any suspicion decides to move to another city and then hunt there. It could explain the gaps. What do you think?” Martine asked looking at him.

Lionel thought about it for a while and agreed with her. The thought seemed plausible, but they didn’t have the authority or the jurisdiction to check out other cities, but He knew someone who did. He checked his watch. It was close to ten at night, he decided that it wasn’t too late to call and dialed the number. Martine looked on curiously.

“Who are you calling?”

“A friend, someone who could get us the information we need.” Lionel smiled and replied.

On the other end the phone was ringing. Lionel waited patiently for someone to answer. He checked his watch again as it rang. Maybe they had gone out, he began to think when the phone was answered.

“Yes?” asked a slightly tired voice.

“Hey Joss, it’s Lionel” Fusco answered cheerfully. It was good to hear her voice.

“Lionel, hi. Sorry I didn’t check the name on the phone before answering it. How are you, it’s been a while.”

“The same, nothing really changes in the city. How is your training going on?”

“It’s almost over. I am going to give my exams soon and then I will find out where I’m going to get assigned, So, why the late phone call?” Carter inquired.

Lionel explained the entire situation to her.

“Ok, I’ll ask Agent Donnelly to check and see if there are any such reports. I will get back to you in a few days.”

“Thanks Joss, so how are things otherwise. How’s Taylor?.” Lionel inquired.

“Taylor’s great. He’s made quite a few friends at his new school and Paul’s been visiting him often now that he’s better.” Joss sounded truly happy. Lionel was glad that she was finally getting the success and happiness that she deserved.

“And how’s Cal?” Fusco asked with a grin on his face. For a second there was nothing but silence on the line.

“He’s fine”, Joss replied in slightly shy tone, “He drops by whenever he can. Taylor likes him too. He said once I get my transfer orders, he’ll put in for his as well.”

“I figured as much. He’s spoken to the captain about it. You two seem to getting pretty serious.”

“Well, I like him but I’m taking it one step at a time. We’ll see how it goes.”

“You know what Carter, I’m really happy for you. But it’s getting late and I don’t want to bother you for too long. Good night.” Fusco said.

“Good night Lionel. It was really nice talking to you and I’ll call you back when I have that information you need.”

 

* * *

 

 

Root was feeling much better and had also picked up some Korean food for Sameen. It had been almost a month since her fight with Death. She was hoping that she would be able to make it up to her this time. In the past month she had only made the trip to check in on the cargo. To make sure that they were all asleep and that their other needs were taken care off. Her system was quite self sustaining so she didn’t have to do too much. But now she was back and she had pulled one of them out of his deep slumber and tied him to a chair.

She contemplated as to how to kill him but just decided to make it quick, since that was what she had promised Death. So she did her thing and waited.

Nothing happened for almost a minute. She looked around; it was unlike Death to be late. The man’s soul had started to wander and then she heard a strange sound like something rushing by her. The wind blew her hair and she saw a black blur move towards the soul. It touched the soul and then disappeared.

Root just stood there stunned. She couldn’t believe what had happened. Did Sameen just completely ignore her?

“Sameen. Sameen?” she called out. Her voice echoed through the warehouse but there was no reply. She didn’t know what to do. She called out again.

“Sameen, I’m sorry about last time. Please come back.” She screamed in desperation. But once again there was no reply. Then she got angry. She knew what to do. She knew exactly how to get her back.

Root stormed into the truck and pulled out another body. She dumped him on a wheelchair and pulled him out of the trailer. Even in her anger she knew better than to ruin her truck.

She dragged him out and slit his throat. Blood poured out of his opened neck and turned the man’s clothes red. He never regained consciousness and she slowly felt him deflate as the life slipped out of him.

Root waited tensely for Death to show and once again the same thing happened. The black wind just roared past her, collected the soul and disappeared.

“Sameen” Root shouted. She was now furious.

She did it a third time. Another man died but Death never slowed down. Root knew Death wasn’t coming back. She broke down and fell to the ground, next to the dead body, sobbing uncontrollably. She just wanted to see her love and she felt like she had lost her and she didn’t understand why.

Everything she had done over the past eight months had just been for her. She had done terrible things just so that she could be with the woman she loved. How could Sameen not see that?

After she was all cried out she picked herself up and sat at the edge of the container looking over the ones that still remained. She didn’t know what she would do with them if Death wasn’t going to return. She felt hollow inside. She sat there and stared into the distance blankly. It was as if she had completely lost the will to live.

Soon the Shadows started to swarm around her. They liked her and considered her a friend and a compatriot. They could sense her despair and wanted to help her. She spoke with them for a while, it made her feel better. They promised they would find a way to help her win Death back. But they still had their hunger to feed and there were three bodies lying there and they couldn’t resist the temptation. They asked if they could take them.

“Yeah, sure, whatever. Take them, they’re all yours.” Root replied. She didn’t really care at that moment. In hindsight maybe she should have. But it made the shadows happy and she figured that at least someone should be happy at that moment.

Root cleaned up a little and finally went back home. She had never felt that alone in her entire life.

 

* * *

 

 

 “I think I have something.” Martine walked up to Fusco’s desk and told him excitedly.

“What?”

“I think I found that witness we were looking for.”

“Which witness?” Fusco was trying to recollect whatever it is that Martine was talking about.

“Don’t you remember that junkie we spoke with downtown? What was his name? The jittery one.” Now it was Martine turn to struggle with her memories, but at that moment Lionel caught on to what Martine was referring to.

“You mean Zeke. Yeah, I remember talking to him. How can I forget? The man was going on and on about demons and monsters with sharp claws and teeth. Oh and monsters that were made of shadows. Yeah, he was very reliable.” Fusco rolled his eyes.

“Yes, I agree that he wasn’t all there but maybe there was some truth to what he was saying. He definitely saw something but in his doped out mind he just added a lot of stuff to it. But he did mention that the demon that he saw was a woman and he also said that his friend Kenny saw it too.” Martine emphasized on Kenny.

“So what, you think that Zeke was right?”

“Not entirely, but we can always ask Kenny?” Martine smiled.

“You found him. You found Kenny.” Fusco stood up from his seat. His eyes lit up. This could be the big break they were looking for.

“Yes, I did. He’s at Laketown Hospital. He had some kind of a mental breakdown. He’s been there for nearly two months for psychiatric treatment after, according to him, his friend Jacob was taken by shadow monsters. And guess what, Jacob was a member of the Brotherhood so he definitely fits the pattern” Martine explained with a satisfied look on her face. She had put in a lot of work looking for Kenny and it just might pay off.

 

A couple of days later they got some time off from their regular cases and decided to visit Kenny.

The psychiatric wing of the hospital wasn’t a pleasant place to be. It looked like the rest of the hospital except that the some of the doors and windows were barred to prevent the patients from escaping. Fusco also caught glimpses of patients restrained to their beds to avoid them from harming themselves and others. Fusco felt bad for these people. It was a terrible thing to lose one’s mind. To not know who you are. He couldn’t imagine a worse fate than that.

The Doctor had been very helpful and took them to Kenny’s room. It was stark white room with no furniture and Kenny sat in the furthest corner from the door.

“On most days he’s quite normal and easy to talk to as long as you can handle the rambling. Just don’t approach him, otherwise he will start to get hysterical. The thing is, it’s not you that he’s afraid of, it’s your shadow. He believes that there are monsters hidden with it and they are just waiting to kill him. SO you can ask him anything you want as long as you keep your distance.” The doctor explained Kenny’s situation and the ground rules.

Fusco and Martine entered the room and stood near the wall so as to avoid scaring him.

Kenny was at the far end of the room facing the white cushioned walls. The room was a brightly lit as possible without everyone going blind, but it was still too bright. Both the detectives took a little bit of time to adjust to the light levels.

“Kenny, I’m Detective Fusco and this is Detective Martine we had a few questions for you.”

After what seemed like an eternity Kenny finally turned around. Fusco saw that he was just a young man, barely in his twenties, but he was ravaged by his fears. It seemed like he had barely slept in weeks and looked nothing like his mug shot. He was less than a half of his former weight. In his eyes Fusco could see the paranoia that had eaten away at this man as his eyes darted around looking for those imaginary monsters that according to him lurked in the shadows. After a bit his eyes finally settled on them.

“Hi, I didn’t see you two standing there.” He eyes darted around again. He had a manic energy to him, like he was a man trying to escape his own shadow.

“Kenny, Kenny.” Martine spoke a little louder to get his attention back.

Kenny’s eyes snapped back to them.

“Kenny we need to ask you about Jacob. Can you tell us what happened?” Martine’s voice softened again.

“Hmm, Jacob. I liked Jacob. He was so nice to me. He was always there for me and then they took him. Those things took him.” Kenny’s voice was shaking as he spoke.

“What things?”

“Those things, they are right behind you. They are hiding in the shadows.” He said pointing at them.

Fusco and Martine knew that there wasn’t much of a point talking to Kenny. They probably wouldn’t get anything of importance from him. They began to turn to leave when Kenny spoke again.

“And she was with them.”

Fusco and Martine stopped turning and looked back at Kenny who by now was busy rambling to himself.

“She? Who’s she?” Lionel asked gently. He didn’t want to scare Kenny now that they were finally onto something useful.

“She was. She was with the shadows and and… I was about to scream and she told me not to, so I didn’t and the shadows they wanted me too but she stopped them. But she took Jacob and then she smiled at me, she had nice smile. Why did she take Jacob? He was nice.” Kenny turned and looked towards them and then shuffled up to them, “Could you bring him back. I really miss him and if you find her can you tell her that I won’t tell anyone about the shadows. I’ll keep my mouth shut just ask her to tell them to leave me alone. Please.” Kenny had grabbed on to Lionel by now as was desperately pleading with him.

Lionel felt bad for the young man. Even though Kenny was a criminal, Lionel wouldn’t wish this fate anyone. He wanted to help him but he just didn’t know how.

“I will Kenny. I’ll find Jacob and when I find the woman I’ll ask her to talk the shadows, OK” Lionel tried to console the young man.

Kenny’s eyes lit up.

“You will. Thank you. Tell her she can trust me. I won’t tell anyone about them. Just tell them to leave me alone. Just leave me alone. I know how to keep my mouth shut. That’s what Jacob always said to me. Don’t be a rat. I’m not a rat. No sir, I’m not.”

Kenny had gone back to his rambling. Lionel and Martine took it as a cue to leave.

“So what, we go on the word of a junkie and a mental patient that our perp might be a woman?” Lionel asked as they stepped out of the room.

“That’s better than nothing and at least it gives us a direction.”

Lionel knew Martine was right. Something was better than nothing.

They thanked the doctor and left the hospital.

On their way out Lionel got a phone call. They made their way out and stood by the car while Fusco finished the call.

“Thanks a lot, Joss. I owe you one.”

Lionel pocketed the phone and looked at Martine and smiled.

“What?” Martine looked at him expectantly.

“Let’s drive, I’ll tell you on the way back.”

They got back on the road and Martine wasn’t quite able to control herself.

“Are you going to tell me or do I have to shoot you?”

Lionel grinned, “We might have some news, just don’t get your hopes up too high.”

“Yeah fine, just tell me already.” Martine was beginning to get frustrated.

“Joss had Agent Donnelly check up and see if there were any criminals missing in the neighboring cities. Even though they have very few actually reported missing there are a too many rumors to dismiss it completely. By their count they have at least another eight or ten missing. They don’t have an exact number but then neither do we.”

Martine was happy with the news. It filled in the gap in their findings.

“Anything about a woman, any witnesses?”

“Sorry, nothing and since it’s all majorly rumors, the FBI can’t even officially launch an investigation. So it seems that it’s just the two of us.” Lionel shrugged.

Martine smiled back and they drove off towards the precinct. They were just happy with the fact that at least they had a potential suspect or that they probably knew the gender of the suspect.

And that wasn’t a bad start.

 

* * *

 

 

“Well, fuck you. I don’t need your project either.” Root slammed the phone down.

She had been a bad mood all week, ever since Death had seemingly abandoned her. She had tried to pick up some freelance work to keep herself occupied but in her current mood she was hardly in any state to finish a project. She almost contemplated killing that irritating client but decided to let it pass.

She only had the shadows to keep her company and they weren’t really good at lifting up her mood. But she was grateful for the company nonetheless.

They had brought her good news though. They knew of a way by which they could capture Death, well not exactly capture but it would definitely make Death stop for awhile.

“So, this will work.”

Root stood in the middle of the room surrounded by her sharp clawed friends who all nodded in unison.

“OK, so I can tie down a soul to the body even after it’s dead and so when Death comes to collect it then it won’t be able to and then I’ll get to talk to her.”

They shadows nodded again.

This seemed like a workable plan. The shadows had given her a list of things to buy for the spell and none of them were hard to acquire. She got ready, picked up her backpack, put on her hoodie and stepped out into the corridor and it was then that she started to hear the commotion.

It was her next door neighbor, her ex-boyfriend was back to trouble her. On most days Root wouldn’t have cared but today the arguments seemed to be getting really loud. Root stood by her door and kept watching as the man kept verbally abusing the woman.

The woman was starting to get scared and she was struggling to take out her phone to probably call the police. The man saw this and grabbed the phone from her hand and threw it against the wall. After that he began to move towards her.

“What do think you are going to do, bitch? You going to call the cops on me.” He shouted at her and raised his hand. That was as far as Root was going to let it go.

The next moment man found himself flying through the air as he slammed into the opposite wall. There was a very loud crunch sound and it seemed like the man probably broke something. He was still lying on the floor trying to pick himself up, still dazed as to what exactly happened when a woman crouched next to him and she didn’t look happy at all.

“That was me being gentle. If you ever come near her again I will rip you shreds, understand.” Root growled at him.

Now it was the man’s turn to be terrified. He could see that the woman was definitely insane and he knew enough to get out of there. He just nodded and scrambled out of there.

Root stood up and watched him leave. When she turned around she saw her neighbor still looking at her in amazement. Then she immediately rushed forward and hugged her. Root had no idea as to how to react to that. She wasn’t one to give into physical displays of affection and no one had hugged her in a very long time. She realized that she liked the feeling and let the woman hug her.

The woman finally stepped back and Root saw that she was crying.

“I’m sorry, it’s just that I was so scared. I thought he would have really hurt me this time. If you wouldn’t have been there I don’t know what he would have done.”

Root just smiled back. There was bit of an awkward silence between them.

“I’m Hannah. Hannah Frey.” The dark haired woman introduced herself with a smile. At that moment a little girl’s head peaked shyly from behind Hannah.

“And this is Gen. My daughter.” said Hannah as Gen kept holding on to her, like she was afraid to let go.

“Hi, Gen, I’m Samantha Groves. You can call me Sam.” Root smiled back.

Gen smiled in return and once again disappeared behind her mother.

“Thank you very much, Sam. I don’t know how to repay you. You want to come in for a while. I have some coffee.” Hannah offered.

Root was tempted to go in. Hannah seemed nice and Root felt a strange kind of kinship with her even though she had met her just a few minutes ago, but Root had other pressing matters.

“Maybe next time. I have some errands to run.”

“OK. Drop by whenever you feel like.”

Root walked a little distance and then stopped and turned.

“Hannah, let me know if that idiot ever comes back.”

Hannah smiled and nodded.

 

* * *

 

 

Two days later Root was back in the warehouse. She had already killed two guys and failed in pinning down the soul. She was starting to get frustrated and was also beginning to lose hope. She just had a two more bodies left to get this right.

She had the third one tied and prepped. She hoped she had everything in place this time. The symbols had been carved and she had tied the silver thread to his arm, which according to her friends would prevent the soul from being collected. She took a deep breath and plunged the knife through the man’s sternum. He took a while to bleed out and die as Root waited around impatiently. She had asked the shadows if she could kill him in any other way but they had been specific about the method.

But he did die eventually and the black wind appeared again. It grabbed the soul which was standing next to the body and tried to leave but the soul wouldn’t budge from its place.

Root had stepped back and was hiding in the shadows to see what was going to happen. She heaved a sigh of relief at the outcome. It had taken her three tries but it had finally worked.

Meanwhile the black smoke kept trying it’s best to move the soul but without any success. Eventually it stopped and finally took shape. Root waited for Sameen to appear from the smoke but instead a man appeared. This was completely unexpected.

The man started to inspect the body and saw the symbols carved on the man’s chest and the knife driven in the centre of it and then he noticed the thread.

“Haha, very funny. Whoever is here, this isn’t amusing. I have a schedule to keep you know.”

Root finally stepped out of the shadows.

“Who are you? You’re not Death.” She looked at him questioningly.

“Of course I am.”

“No you’re not. You’re not Sameen and I’ve seen all her forms you’re not one of those either. So who are you?”

The man seemed genuinely surprised.

“Wait, you know Death and you know her real name. How?”

Root was about to answer when the man spoke again.

“Are you Root? She’s mentioned you”

Now it was Root’s turn to be surprised.

“She talks about me?” Root couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“Oh yeah, she talks about you all the time. She says you’re nuts but she also says you have good taste in food. If I was to guess I could go so far as saying that she likes you. But you know her she doesn’t like to share her feelings but I've known her long enough to know how she feels about someone even if she won't talk about it.” The man smiled.

“Wait, who are you?” Now Root was completely confused. She wasn’t expecting this at all.

“Oh, silly me. I’m Cole. I work for her from time to time.” Cole stepped forward with an outstretched arm. Root shook his hand.

“Sameen never mentioned she had an assistant.”

“Well, I’m sort of in training. She just calls me in when the load is heavy.”

“In training?” Root asked.

“Yeah, Someday when another species becomes sentient, I’ll get to be their Death.” Cole replied, “But those things don’t happen very often so I could be here for quite some time.” Cole shrugged.

Root finally started to understand, but she still wanted to see Sameen.

“Will she be coming back?” She asked tentatively.

 “I don’t know. She’s sorta busy with those wars that your people keep fighting. At times like these I get called in to take care of the peaceful territories.”

“But I miss her.” Root almost broke down but somehow managed to hold herself together. Still a single tear managed to escape and roll down her cheek.

Cole didn’t know how to respond. He had never been very good at understanding women even when he was alive but he felt like he should help. He could see that Root was clearly insane but she was also very much in love with his boss and from the way his boss spoke about her it was likely that the feeling was mutual and who was he to question love.

“Don’t cry. I won’t be able to handle that. But maybe I can help you.”

Root looked at him, her eyes full of hope, wondering what the man might suggest.

“I could tell her to take the day off from the wars and look after the peaceful regions. I could tell her that I need the experience. I have been assisting her for nearly two thousand years, I could actually use the experience.” Cole suggested.

“You could do that.” Root asked her eyes lighting up.

“Sure.”

“When.”

Cole thought about it for a while.

“How about day after tomorrow, would that be fine? I’ll make sure she’s free that entire day.”

Root rushed up to him and kissed him on the cheek.

“Thank you.”

Cole blushed a little.

“You’re welcome. Now could you let him go? I’m on a schedule.” Cole pointed towards the dead man.

Root untied the thread on the man and Cole disappeared. She was happy that it had worked out better than she had expected and also that her fears were unfounded. Sameen wasn’t mad at her, she was just busy.

 

* * *

The next two days passed by excruciatingly slowly but they did pass and Root was finally back in warehouse. She was praying that Cole would keep his word and that this time Sameen would show because if she didn’t show up then she would have just wasted her final kill that she had in store. Then she would have to go out and try and pick someone else up and even she knew how risky that was going to be.

But her worries were baseless because Sameen did show up and she looked a little grumpy.

“Hey Sameen.” Root stepped forward smiling.

“Hi Root.” Sameen replied, still grumpy.

“What’s wrong?”

Sameen was collecting the soul but she looked extremely distracted.

“What, oh it’s nothing. It’s my assistant.”

“You mean Cole?” Root added.

“Yeah, him. He offered to take over the war zones and I couldn’t refuse him after two thousand years. But it’s just that I keep thinking I should drop by and see how he’s doing but it might seem rude.” Sameen explained.

“Yeah, it might. Besides he seemed quite competent” replied Root.

Sameen nodded her head but then she stopped.

“Wait, you know Cole. How?”

“Well we spoke the other night.” Root replied nonchalantly.

Sameen kept staring at Root for a while but she finally understood that she just been played.

“So that’s what this was about. This was the plan all along. You somehow managed to convince Cole didn’t you. I’m going to kill him the next time I see him.” Sameen seemed furious.

“It’s not really his fault you know. I said I missed you and He was just trying to help.”

Sameen looked up at Root’s sad smiling face and realized that maybe she had been unknowingly a little bit cruel to Root. She should have told her that she was probably going to be busy. She could see in Root’s eyes that the time spent apart had been rough for her. So she finally decided to confess a little bit of how she felt as well.

 “I missed you too.”

Root immediately rushed forward to hug her and barely caught herself in time. She knew that Sameen wasn’t particularly fond of physical affection.

Sameen stared at her for a second and finally gave in.

“Oh fine, you can hug me, but just this one time.”

And the Maiden hugged Death.

 

A little while later, they both were sitting next to the truck. Root had gotten steaks, which was Sameen’s favorite.

“You know, I thought you were mad at me for all of this.” Root pointed towards the truck, “and when you didn’t show up I thought you’d left me.” Root was almost about to cry again.

Sameen stopped eating her steak and looked at Root.

“To be honest I was a little mad but I can’t stay mad at you forever.” Sameen smiled at Root.

Root grinned widely.

“But you can’t keep doing this, sooner or later you’re going to get caught.”

“It’s been nearly a year, no one’s caught me yet. Besides I always knew I wouldn’t have a very long life span in this line of work and if I die then I can be with you. So it’s a win win, right?”

Sameen could see that Root really didn’t care about dying but strangely Death wasn’t in a hurry to collect her soul.

“Well maybe you should take a break for a while, just for my sake.”

“But if I take a break how would I meet you.” Root was sounding worried again.

Sameen thought about it for a while.

“Tell you what. If you promise to stop then I’ll come and see you every other day, how about that?”

Root’s eyes lit up.

“Seriously, you would do that.”

“Yeah, why not, I’m sure Cole would love the extra work, as long as you keep your side of the bargain.”

Root didn’t even need to think about it.

“Deal” and smiling she went back to finishing her steak.

And Death was a being of its word. Sameen showed up every other day to meet her and Root had never been happier in her life. But through all the time they spent together, they both somehow felt that this happiness wouldn’t last for long and they were right.

 

* * *

 

 

The shadow world is a strange place. It’s always interested about the real world and it often picks up things from the physical realm out of sheer curiosity. But nothing of any substance can remain permanently in the shadow realm. Sooner or later once the denizens of the shadow world got bored of their current toy they would drop it back into the real world and that is exactly what they did with the bodies that they had picked up from Root.

They dropped two of the bodies in very remote parts of the globe but by some strange coincidence they dropped the third one right back in the city near a garbage dump.

Lionel got a call about it the next day after one of the workers of the sanitation department found the body.

It was early morning when Lionel and Martine reached the crime scene. They were both intrigued and horrified upon seeing the state of the deceased. It was like nothing they had ever seen. The body had deep gashes on it but it seemed to be completely drained of blood. Also the brain was missing. But even though the body had been through a lot they were able to pull prints of it.

Once the body was in the morgue, the cause of death turned out to be a simple puncture to the back of the neck. All the other damage had been done post mortem. But even the M.E. couldn’t explain the gashes at all. He couldn’t even identify what type of animal it could have been.

Martine and Lionel were getting nowhere with the case. They decided to wait till the prints came back which was going to take a couple days due to the backlog. But when the report did come in it almost felt like Christmas had come early.

 

Lionel rushed towards his desk with the report to tell give Martine the good news.

“You’re not going to believe this.”

“What?” Martine stopped filling in her report and looked up at Fusco.

“I just got the prints back. It’s Jacob Calloway.”

Martine got up off the chair.

“Kenny’s Jacob?” Martine almost shouted in her excitement.

“Yeah, we just got our first real lead, Martine.” Fusco sounded equally excited.

After nearly two months of toiling away at a case that seemingly led nowhere they had finally lucked out. Now they actually had a chance of catching this mystery woman.

 


	5. The Investigation

"Hot" Fusco said as he wiped his lips with a handkerchief.

"Of course it is. Why would I bring you cold coffee in winter?" Martine smiled, "What time did you get here?" she asked.

Here being a ramshackled old bungalow in an even more decrepit part of the city. There had been another gang related shooting. The place was surrounded by cop cars and ambulances. At that time of the morning, with the sunlight streaming over the rooftops, the entire scene strangely reminded Fusco of those watering hole in a forest, he had seen in a wildlife documentary, where animals of all shapes and sizes came together to get a sip of water. Except in those documentaries the animals never had bullet holes in them.

The cops and coroners inside the building were still assessing the extent of the damage and carrying out the bodies.

"I was at the precinct for a while and then I went home. But I got a call from Laskey around six thirty in the morning. There was no other senior detective available so he called me."

Even though that had been an hour ago, Fusco was still trying to wake up. The late nights had started to take a toll. But almost every cop in the city was being pushed to their functional limits with the ongoing gang war. Ever since Dominic's disappearance and possible death nearly three months ago the city had seen a major uptick in gang violence and with no one to control the gangs there were no signs of it letting up anytime soon.

"Sometimes I wish Elias was back, at least when he was around organised crime was... well , organised." Fusco said as he reminisced the older days.

"That was before I showed up. Did you ever get a chance to meet him?" Martine asked.

"Not really, but I heard he was a reasonable man, not like these young punks who think violence is the answer to everything."

"But he was still a criminal."

"No one is denying that. But the fact of the matter is there will always be criminals, which is why you need someone to control them and keep the peace, and Elias was good at that. I mean look around you and tell me you wouldn't prefer that to this?"

"True, it's always better if you have a boss who can run things without resorting to violence every five minutes. I was in Chicago for a few years, that place was a mess, probably still is. Compared to that, this is like a summer vacation." Martine pointed towards the medical staff carrying out the bloody bodies.

"Yeah, I've heard about that. You know that's why everyone around here looks up to you so much. You survived Chicago and the cartels."

Martine chuckled.

And for a while they stood next to Fusco's car and sipped their coffees trying to enjoy their tiny moment of peace amidst all the carnage.

“And here comes one of your admirers now.” Fusco said as Laskey walked up to them.

Laskey smiled awkwardly as he spotted Det. Martine. He was glad to see her but he was trying not to make it seem too obvious.

“Det. Martine, nice to see you.” Laskey said.

“How are you, Mike?” Martine asked.

“Fine.” Laskey replied and kept staring at her awkwardly for a while before Fusco decided to interrupt the moment.

“So, what do we have in there, Laskey?”

“Eleven dead bodies, another five in critical condition. I just got news that a patrol car picked up a chinese dude, badly wounded, possible gunshot wound, about two blocks from here. He had passed out in an alleyway. Could be someone who managed to escape this massacre.”

“How badly wounded?” Martine asked.

“We don’t know for sure. They are taking him to the hospital right now.”

They all went silent for a while, each one lost in their own thoughts. Fusco could see that Laskey, as usual, was trying to summon up the courage to drum up a casual conversation with Martine, who as usual, seemed oblivious to the fact.

“Alright, here’s a question, what is The Triad doing in Irish territory?” Fusco asked as he broke the silence.

“I think it has something to do with Elias?” Laskey replied.

“Elias?” Fusco said.

“From whatever I've heard, it looks like the Triad has joined hands with The Brotherhood.” Laskey started to explain.

“And the Irish were traditionally allies with Elias and with Dominic gone, The Brotherhood thinks that the Irish might have had a hand in his disappearance.” Martine said.

“Exactly, and instead of coming themselves they probably had The Triad send in some of their people to do what, exact some revenge.” Fusco continued the line of thought.

“Could be, but I think they might have wanted some information.” Laskey said.

“Information?” Fusco asked.

“Yeah, there is a rumour that probably Elias is back in town and laying low. So maybe they came here so capture a few people and squeeze them for information and everything went sideways.”

Fusco and Martine seemed impressed by Laskey’s knowledge.

“If that is the truth then I think things might get even rougher than they are now. Laskey you’ve learnt a lot about the gangs in these past few months. Keep this up and you’ll make detective in no time.” Martine said.

Laskey almost blushed.

“Thank you, Detective, but it’s mostly been because of Detective Fusco’s help.”

“You are a good learner, Laskey. Now is there anything else?” Fusco said.

“No sir, unless you want to take another look inside.”

“Not really. I’ve seen all I needed to see. It’s not as if there is some big mystery to be solved in there. It’s pretty open and shut.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Alright, so wrap things up over here and get back to me with the M.E.’s report.” Fusco said.

Laskey nodded and went back to oversee the entire operation.

“He’s a smart kid?” Martine said as Laskey walked away.

“He is and he’s completely smitten with you.”

Martine looked at Fusco and rolled her eyes.

“Fine, don’t believe me.”

“Even if he is, I don’t sleep with anyone I work with. It just makes things awkward.”

“That I fully agree with.”

Martine smirked.

“Putting aside our glorious love lives for a second, why are you here? I thought we were to meet back at the precinct.” Fusco asked.

“We were, but I got call from the captain. She want’s to meet us ASAP.”

“And you’re telling me this after you’ve been here for half an hour.”

“Sorry, I got distracted by Laskey’s beautiful eyes.” Martine replied sarcastically.

Fusco shook his head and they both got in the car and drove back to the precinct.

 

Twenty minutes later they were back at the precinct, seated in Captain Moreno’s office.

Lisa Moreno was in her early forties. She was a good detective but a better people person with good leadership skills. Those qualities had seen her become one of the few female captains in the city at a relatively young age. She was also good at making friends in high places and usually avoided making any permanent enemies. You never knew when you might need someone. Those things ensured that she could cut through the red tape when it was required.

She was known to be a tough taskmaster but she was reasonable. She knew how far she could push the people under her command before they would break. Right now she knew there was no reason for her to push anyone any harder, since the current circumstances were pushing everyone to their limits anyways. But she was faced with an ever escalating situation and she needed a way to calm things down, a way to stop the city from falling into further chaos, and the two detectives sitting in front of her just might have the solution she was seeking.

"Detectives." Captain Moreno greeted the two detectives.

"Ma'am" the two replied.

"So, what's new this morning?"

Off late that question was always accompanied with an answer that kept adding to her woes, but it was her job and therefore unavoidable. She steeled herself for the reply.

The two detectives stared at each other wondering who would be the bearer of bad news, eventually Fusco decided to carry the burden.

"It looks like the Triad has decided to join the war."

"What, why?" Capt. Moreno asked.

"They have joined forces with The Brotherhood. They hit the Irish last night."

"Why the Irish? Wait, is it because of Elais?"

It always impressed Fusco as to how much the Captain always knew. His previous commanding office rarely worried about what happened outside his office.

"Yes ma'am. There's a rumour that maybe he's back in town."

"Oh god, I hope not because that's only going to make things worse."

The two detectives had no response to that statement. There was no reason to nod either, they all knew it was the truth.

"Screw it, we'll handle it the way we are handling this. But that's not why I called you here. This vigilante theory of yours, the one who started all of this, does it hold water?"

Ever since the escalation in the gang war they had been told to put their pet project aside which was why they were surprised that the captain herself was bringing up the topic.

"We think it does. There are far too many missing persons to call it a coincidence." Martine replied.

"And according to you two, this vigilante of yours is the one who took out Dominic?"

"That's what we think, ma'am. But I don't think she knew that she was taking out the boss of a major crime gang." Fusco said.

"What makes you say that?"

"Most of the other missing persons are all low level criminals, someone no would bother reporting missing nor would their disappearance cause too much alarm in the criminal world. We think she saw him just as a mid-level enforcer, which is what we all thought he was, and made him a target and inadvertently started a gang war." Fusco said

The captain was quiet for a bit.

"Wait, she. The vigilante is a woman. You're sure about that?"

Fusco looked at Martine, waiting for her to jump in. Since she was the one who had found Kenny.

"That's what we think, ma'am."

"And you know this how, You have witnesses?"

"Aaa... kinda."

Lisa Moreno quirked an eyebrow.

"Well, one of them is a junkie and the other is in a mental institution and believes his shadow wants to kill him. But they both say they witnessed kidnappings and that a woman was present at both incidents. And one of the victims is currently on ice in the morgue."

“You mean Jacob.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

The captain was silent once again.

“Alright here’s the thing. If this entire war has been started because of a vigilante then maybe catching her or him might help putting a stop to this madness. Now usually I don’t care if some gangsters decides to kill other gangsters but now we’ve got innocents getting caught in the crossfire. Like that couple that got killed outside that club, two nights ago. What was the name of that place?”

Martine had been the lead detective on that case. It was another shootout in a long line of shootouts. The aforementioned couple had just happened to step out of the club at the worst possible moment.

“The MIA, that’s what the club was called.”

“Yeah, that’s the one. So here’s the thing, I’m giving the two of you a month. You will work on this exclusively. If you don’t turn up any solid leads till the end of the month you go back to your regular routines. Understood?”

“Absolutely.” Fusco replied.

“Alright, this afternoon go to the morgue, I’ve gotten an ME assigned to your case. She will take a closer look at the body and let you know if she finds any additional clues.”

This time the two detective nodded in agreement. They got up thanked the captain and left the office, happy with this turn of events.

 

* * *

 

 

That afternoon, after finishing their lunch, they reached the city morgue. Jacob’s body had been there for almost a couple of weeks now. Since that case hadn’t been high priority the body had been put on ice.

As they entered the main examination hall, which was fairly empty since most of the M.E.s were out for lunch too, they spotted an African American woman standing next to Jacob’s body. She looked to be in her late thirties and quite fit. She was wearing lab coat and was taking down some notes and had earphones in her ears. She didn't hear them approach and was a little surprised when they came and stood opposite to her.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you.”

The doctor took out her earphones and smiled.

“Nah, that’s fine. I was just busy writing and I completely forgot you two were supposed to come. I am assuming you are Detectives Fusco and Martine?”

“Yup, that’s us. Are you the M.E. that’s been assigned to our case?” Martine asked with a smile.

“Yes. It seems that my captain and your captain are friends and she called in a favour. So, shall we get started?” The doctor said as she put down her notes.

“Absolutely” said Fusco.

The ME picked up her notes and flipped through them.

“Alright, so I am going to briefly go through the obvious. Cause of death is loss of blood because of a knife wound to the throat. All the claw and teeth marks are post mortem. Can’t explain the missing brain but I’m assuming that has got to with whatever made those claw marks, considering that there are similar claw marks around the skull.”

“Any idea what made them?” Martine enquired.

“Not really. I have called in an animal expert. I will have a more definitive answer for you in a few days.”

“Ok.”

“So that's the obvious, now lets get to what you can’t see.”

“Which being?” Fusco asked

“This man’s body is full of Pentobarbital.

“Which is what?”

“It’s an extremely powerful hypnotic and sedative. It is also used to induce an artificial coma. Does that make any sense to the two of you?”

The two detectives looked at each other.

“Yeah, I think so. Jacob went missing almost two months back and his body didn’t show up till two weeks ago. It’s possible that our killer could have picked him up and kept him under till they got around to him.” Martine explained.

Fusco was silent for a bit and then spoke.

“One question, how much of this pentobarbital would you require to keep a grown man under for two months?”

“Quite a bit.”

“And what if it’s more than one person. What if it’s 5 or 6 people?”

The ME stared at them in shock.

“That would take barrels of this stuff. You’re saying someone kidnapped six people and kept them in a coma so he could kill them at leisure.”

“That’s the current theory.”

“Wow, that’s.... insane. You know what, I usually work with the detectives down at the 12th Precinct. We have this writer who we use as a consultant, from time to time, and he comes up all these crazy theories whenever we have a murder. He would have had a field day with this.”

Fusco and Martine chuckled.

“Well, the theory also is that it’s possible that our killer might have accidentally triggered this citywide gang war that we are currently in. So I think we have enough crazy theories for the time being. But, thank you for your time and please let us know if you find anything else.” Fusco said.

“Well there is one more thing. He was also kept at a fairly low temperature for maybe that entire duration.”

“Are you sure?” Martine asked.

“Definitely. There are enough signs on the skin to indicate that.”

“Alright, so a medically induced coma and stored in a place with low temperatures. I think that should give us some direction to go into. Thank you very much doctor.”

Martine thanked the M.E. and the two detectives turned around to leave when Fusco stopped.

“I never caught your name.” Lionel asked.

“It’s Lanie, Dr. Lanie Parish.”

“Nice to meet you Dr. Parish. Once again, Thank you for your time.”

 

Later that night, after they had finished wrapping up the paperwork for their closed cases and handed off their open cases to other detectives, much to their colleagues chagrin, they were at their local chinese restaurant about to start dinner.

It was a place close to the precinct and was often frequented by cops and other officials for lunch and dinner. No one claimed that the food was great but it was close by and none of the clients, after their usual work day of dealing with an assortment of criminals, was in any mood to complain.

"This can barely be called edible." Fusco complained about the state of his noodles, "Their quality is really going down.  Maybe it's time to stop being lazy and find another place to eat."

Martine grunted in agreement as she stared at her chicken soup or whatever this watery liquid was supposed to be.

After poking his noodles with a fork, while trying to summon up the courage to put it in his mouth, Fusco finally gave up.

"I can't eat this." Fusco put his fork down and pushed his plate away.

Martine followed suit.

 

Twenty minutes later they were seated in another restaurant eating burgers.

"So what made you transfer to New York?" Fusco asked.

"Rest and recuperation." Martine answered as she took another bit of her burger, "After Chicago and New Mexico, I figured I needed some downtime."

"Considering our current situation that may not have been the smartest of ideas." Fusco smiled.

"Oh trust me, this is still peaceful as compared to dealing with the cartels. Those people are friggin animals. After the things I've seen them do, seeing a few bodies sprayed with bullets seems ordinary."

"That bad, huh"

"You have no idea. I won't go into a description because you might lose your appetite, but then even I might lose mine."

"Have you ever seen anything like Jacob?" Fusco asked.

"Now that I haven't. That managed to surprise me too. I still can't figure out the brain part. Why would you take the brain and what kind of animal would do that?"

"I have no clue. Not really an animal person. But then as Dr. Parish said she will have an expert look into it. I think maybe the brain was eaten by the same animals. Who knows. This whole thing is just too damn weird. I'm just glad that we have some normal leads that we can chase and not imaginary shadow monsters."

"About that, did you find anything?" Martine asked.

"I did get a list of the medical suppliers in the city. If we go by what Dr. Parish said, we are looking at barrels of this stuff. What was it called again?" Fusco asked.

"Pentobarbital" Martine replied.

"Yeah, that and that kind of quantity you definitely can't buy from over the counter even with a prescription. So, I got a list of names. There are three big ones and there are about eight or ten smaller ones. We can start with the big ones tomorrow."

"Sounds like a plan."

 

* * *

 

 

With their caseload gone and getting back to the vigilante case, they both felt invigorated. They got to work bright and early but by afternoon they had yet to find anything concrete. All the three major medical suppliers had proven to be dead-ends. They had even visited four of smaller suppliers and had yet to find any evidence of any missing medicine. They were walking out of the office of the fifth smaller medical supplier with the same results.  

“This is getting tiring.” Martine said.

“It’s always the same thing. You get a list of names and it’s always the last one on the list that’s important. One time I decided I was going to start from the bottom. It didn’t make any difference. Turned out the first name was the one I wanted.” Fusco replied.

Martine laughed. She liked her new partner, he knew how to keep things light and not get bogged down by failure. They decided to stand besides their car and eat their sandwiches. A break was needed.

“Have you thought about what the M.E. said, about Jacob being stored in a low temperature environment?” Martine asked.

“That’s what I’ve been thinking all day.”

“And, any theories?”

“I was initially thinking that it could be a clinic of sorts, but I think somebody would have noticed by now. If you had six people in a state of coma. Unless our killer has a private clinic or something. But I’m not sure about it. What about you, any thoughts?”

“I was thinking the same thing, but then I thought maybe it might be a better idea if you remained mobile. That would minimize the risk of detection.”

“Like a refrigerated truck.” Fusco exclaimed.

“Exactly.”

“But you would have to keep it somewhere. You can’t just park it somewhere out in the open.”

“What about one of those long term storage facilities? She could have rented one of those. You get ones that are large enough to keep a truck inside. A small truck definitely. All she would have to do would be to check in every now and make sure everything was alright.”

“That could work.” Fusco agreed.

But then they looked around and came to a sudden realization that they were at that moment in the warehouse district. The place was full of long term and short term storage facilities. For all they knew, their serial killer was right now in one of those storage units killing someone.

They looked at each other and knew that they were thinking the exact same thing. They decided not to voice their thoughts since it would make no difference. Instead they decided to focus on the task at hand.

“How far is the next place?” Martine asked as she wiped her lips with a paper napkin.

Fusco went through the list.

“Not too far actually, just a couple of blocks. It’s a good thing that most of the remaining suppliers are in this area.”

“Yeah. I didn’t feel like driving too far right now. So, what’s the name of this place?”

As they were getting in the car Fusco checked the list again.

“R.H. Surgicals.” Fusco replied as he got into the car.

 

R.H. Surgicals was a relatively newer player in the field. But they had shown remarkable growth over the last couple of years ever since the older management had changed. Whoever had taken over was a lot smarter and aggressive. Fusco suspected that there maybe some underhand dealing going on. But that wasn’t their concern at the moment.

The main administrative office of the company was right next their warehouse. It was afternoon and things were slightly relaxed. Most of the deliveries of the day were already done and while some of the staff looked like they were busy, the rest of them were just hanging around whiling away their time and unless there was any emergency at one of the hospitals they wouldn’t be called in for anything else.

Fusco and Martine walked up to a gruff looking man with short cropped greying hair.

“Hi, we wanted to talk to whoever is in charge.” Fusco said as he held out his badge.

The man stared at the badge suspiciously, as if he was unsure of their credentials. But then he nodded and began to walk towards a small single storied building towards their right. The office was empty except for a single person sitting behind a large desk at the far end of the office. The man was slim, african american and in his mid forties to early fifties. He had the look of someone who liked to have every aspect of his life planned and in control. Someone not used to making mistakes. The desk, behind which he sat, reflected that. It was very well organised, all the files and papers neatly stacked as if they were scared of what would happen if they stepped out of line.

The gruff looking man walked behind the desk and whispered in his boss's ear.

The other man stood up and smiled genially at the detectives.

"Detectives. Alonso Quinn." The man held out his hand and Martine shook it. He pointed towards the seats in front of the desk and motioned them to sit.

"How may I be of assistance to the police department?"

"We wanted to know a little bit about your inventory." Martine replied.

"If you could be a little more specific."

"We are looking specifically for a sedative called Pentobarbital."

The moment Fusco mentioned the name a strange look passed between the two men. Even though the look lasted for a mere fraction of a second, the detectives made a mental note of it.

"Finally, I was wondering when someone would show up about that?" Alonso Quinn said.

"Excuse me?" Martine said.

"We had a robbery almost two months ago. Someone made off with more than eight barrels of the stuff. I even reported it stolen. But no one ever got back to me. I mean, someone did show up when we reported it but nothing much happened after that. I am assuming you two are here about that."

Martine and Fusco looked at each other. They had finally hit the jackpot. This was the place they were looking for.

"Could you give us some details about it. We are investigating something that might be related to the robbery."

"There really isn't much to tell. I came in the morning after having my breakfast. I usually do a routine inventory check, just incase we are short of something and when I reached that section it was empty except for one barrel. I checked the security footage but there was nothing there. Just static. I reported it missing immediately."

"Can we see the footage?" Martine asked.

The man suddenly looked sheepish.

"I am sorry but it was accidently erased. We had hired a new employee a couple of weeks back and he accidently erased an entire months worth of footage. I fired him immediately."

Fusco and Martine looked a little crestfallen. The boss noticed their reaction.

"As the boss said, there really wasn't anything there worth seeing. Whoever it was, managed to bypass the security systems completely." The gruff looking man interjected.

"That's too bad. Who exactly are you?" Fusco asked.

"Oh, this is Patrick Simmons. He takes care of the day to day operations."

Fusco smiled at him politely. Simmons managed to force a smile in return. They both decided that they didn't really like each other.

All of a sudden they had run out of conversation. They sat there awkwardly. Alonso Quinn and Patrick Simmons were beginning to look a little uncomfortable as if they had something to hide, of which both Martine and Fusco were sure. They just kept smiling trying to hide that fact.

"I don't want to take up too much of your time but I have just one more question." Martine said.

"Sure, anything we can do to help." Alonso Quinn replied.

"Do you know any place around here that supplies refrigerated trucks or delivery vans"

Both the men looked slightly taken aback. Physically there was very little change in their demeanor but Fusco could still make out the slight bit of surprise on their face. It was a question that they hadn't anticipated.

"Well there are a lot of places around here that provide these kind of vehicles. I am sure Simmons will have a list. May I ask why?" the boss said.

"Oh nothing important, it might be related to the case we are currently investigating."

"What case, if you don't mind me asking?"

The detectives thought about it for a while.

"Well, we're not at liberty to say. It's still very early in the investigation." Martine leaned over slightly and told Quinn in a softer tone.

"I understand."

"Well, thank you for your time. You've been most helpful."

"Anytime. Simmons will show you the way out and he will also provide you with the list of those truck companies."

 

On their way back to the Precinct, Fusco was studying the list that Simmons had given them.

"I don't trust them." Martine commented.

Fusco looked up from the list.

"I don't either. At first it seemed fine. I think I first started to get curious when he said that they had accidently deleted the CCTV footage. But the truck thing surprised me."

"Yeah, honestly I just threw that out there. Even I hadn't expected that reaction."

"We need to look these guys up once we get back."

 

They spent the next couple of days digging through the whatever they could find on R.H. Surgicals. Fusco called in a few favors from some guys he knew at the IRS. There were definitely some discrepancies but nothing that they could hold them on.

"I am sure we're missing something." Martine said as she closed the IRS file.

"I think we are missing a lot and I think I just found out what."

Martine looked up at him.

"There is a trucking company called Terney trucking. Owned by one Raymond Terney. As it turns out Raymond Terney and Simmons served together in the military for a while. And guess who their commanding officer was."

"Alonso Quinn."

"Yup. But that's not it. There were rumors that they were involved with selling equipment in the black market. But nothing was proven. I was doing a little more digging. Quite a few of the other Medical suppliers have reported that sometimes their equipment goes missing in transit or gets damaged, but nothing ever seems to happen to the R.H. stuff. The funny thing is that most of it always happens when the other companies use Terney Trucking."

"So they are sabotaging other companies to make theirs successful."

"Looks like it. Along with that it looks like there might also be some underhanded practices, selling stuff cheap to the hospitals to try and under cut their competition."

"Sounds good, but can we prove any of it and more importantly is any of it relevant to our case."

"We don't need to prove anything. We just need leverage and I haven't even told you the best part yet."

"Well what do you think this is, some kind of mystery movie. Are you waiting for a drum roll to make your big reveal. Tell me already."

Fusco laughed. He enjoyed troubling his new partner. Carter was always so patient, Martine was pretty much the exact opposite.

"It looks like they reported a truck missing less than two weeks after the robbery at R.H. Surgicals."

"I think it's time we had a talk with Mr. Terney, don't you?" Martine smiled.

 

* * *

 

 

Unsurprisingly, Terney Trucking wasn't located too far from R.H Surgicals. It was just a five minute drive, if you knew the way. The place wasn't much to look at. Just a collection of garages and a small office on the first floor.

It was getting a little late in the evening when the two detectives decided to show up. Most of the employees had already left for the day and there was just a small skeleton crew left to take care of the place. Raymond Terney usually worked a little late but mostly because he liked to discuss the events of the day with his beautiful twenty something secretary. Luckily for the Martine and Fusco, that discussion hadn't started when they showed up.

The boys on the ground floor had shown them the way to the office upstairs. As they were climbing up they noticed some strange damage on some of the trucks parked below. It looked like claw marks. Some of them were hidden under new coats of paint, but some gashes were deep enough to have ripped right through the metal.

When they stepped into the office lobby it was empty. There was a desk which they assumed would be manned by the secretary but it was vacant. They heard voices coming from the main office. They could hear some chatter, it was mainly a man's voice interspersed with the occasional female giggle.

"Hello, is anybody there?" Fusco said rather loudly.

The next instant the voices stopped. A moment later the office door opened and out stepped a young woman. She was dressed formally in a dark red skirt with a matching blazer and a white shirt. However far too many of the top shirt buttons were open and the young woman had failed to notice that. Also the tight skirt seemed slightly bunched up. Fusco turned towards Martine and smiled. Neither of them liked to assume things but it seemed that Fusco's contact had been right. Raymond Terney was involved in some extracurricular activities with his assistant.

The woman straightened her skirt and walked behind the desk.

"How may I help you?" She asked forcing a smile on her face. Apparently she hadn't enjoyed being interrupted either.

"We're looking for Mr. Terney. Is he in?" Fusco enquired.

"He's busy at the moment. Maybe you can come back another time." she said in a less than courteous tone.

Fusco took out his badge and put it on the table.

"How about we don't? Look, sweetheart, the sooner we get to meet him the sooner you two can get back to your discussion."

The young woman's face turned red. She looked furious. If looks could kill, Fusco was sure he would be dead by now, given the way she was staring at him. He honestly didn't care who the young woman was sleeping with, but that didn't excuse her rudeness.

The secretary jabbed the intercom button.

"Mr. Terney, there are some cops here to see you" She announced.

"Detectives, dear, Detectives." Fusco corrected her cheekily.

"There are some Detectives here to see you." she repeated her announcement. Her words laced with venom.

"Thank you, I'll see them now." came the reply over the intercom thirty seconds later.

The woman pointed them towards the closed door of her boss's office.

"Be careful of that one, she maybe young but looks nasty." Martine whispered to Fusco as they stepped into Terney's office.

 

The office was small but overly decorated. There was a large assortment of vases, marble statuettes and trinkets strewn across the room. There was a huge ornate clock on the wall. There was a plush leather sofa opposite to the large mahogany desk behind which sat Raymond Terney in a high backed leather chair. There was a lot of stuff in the office, and Martine was sure that all it must have cost an arm and a leg. But sadly none of it matched. It just gave one the impression that the man who had purchased these items only cared about the price tags and nothing else.

There were also a few photographs and other memorabilia hanging on the wall. The only things that seemed to have some personal value.

Raymond Terney got up and smiled at them.

"Detectives, please come in, have a seat. Sorry to have kept you waiting." The man greeted them jovially but his eyes seemed vary.

"That's perfectly fine, Mr. Terney. I can understand you must be busy." Martine replied as she sat down.

Fusco remained standing and walked up to the opposite wall to look at the pictures. There hanging on the wall was a photo of Raymond with the rest of his military pals from back in their Army days, looking all sharp in their military uniforms. Fusco could clearly make out Simmons and a couple of other people he had seen at R.H Surgicals and in the back, slightly obscured, stood Alonso Quinn. Fusco smiled, went back and sat next to Martine.

"So what can I do for you?" Raymond Terney asked.

"We were wondering if we could talk to you about that stolen truck." Martine asked.

"Stolen truck?" Terney looked lost for a bit, till his memory sparked, "You mean the one from two months ago, that was ages back. You people are showing up for it now. Did you find it?"

"Not exactly, but we suspect that it might have been involved in a number of homicides."

"Homicides?" Terney sounded genuinely shocked.

"Yeah, so we were wondering if you could tell us what exactly happened. Anything you can remember can be very helpful to our case."

Terney thought about it.

"There really isn't much to tell. I came in the morning and it was gone. A refrigerated truck. I checked the footage and there was nothing but static. I called the cops that instant and told them everything."

"Is that it?" Martine said.

"Pretty much."

At that moment Fusco turned towards Martine and started to talk to her.

"You know what, this reminds me of that other place that got robbed as well."

"Oh yeah, I remember." Martine turned back towards Raymond and asked him, "Have you heard of R.H. Surgicals? They supply medical equipment."

"Can't say I have. I deal with quite a few suppliers, haven't dealt with them before."

"Well, it seems like they had a similar break-in around the same time."

"You think it could be the same thief."

"That's possible. But you know what's more interesting?" Martine said.

"What?" Terney seemed curious.

"What's interesting is that they gave us your name. They said that they loaded the equipment into your truck and then it went missing. They even showed us the footage of it being loaded into your truck."

"They did what?" Terney sounded furious, "Those bastards. It wasn't even my idea to begin with. It was that asshole Simmons who told me to do it." Terney blurted it out before he could control himself.

Fusco and Martine smiled together. They hadn't expected Terney to fall for their ruse that easily.

"I thought you said had never worked with R.H. Surgicals and I definitely don't remember telling you any names." Martine smirked.

“I just....” Terney was a loss of words.

“We understand, you guys wanted to make some money on the side. But it seems like your friends just threw you under the bus. Also for future reference, the next time you want to keep your friendships a secret try not to display them on the wall.” Fusco said.

Terney looked flustered.

“Look man, I was just following orders. Simmons told me what to do and I did it. He’s the one you want. I swear.” Terney was beginning to sound desperate.

“We believe you. How about this, we’ll give you one chance to get out from under this. Why don’t you call Simmons and Quinn and tell them to come here? You do that and we’ll let you slide.” Martine said.

“I... I never said anything about Mr. Quinn.”

“We know he’s the one who calls the shots, Raymond. Either you get them both here or there’s no deal.”

Terney still looked unconvinced.

“Fine, have it your way. We’ll take you in and investigate you. I am very sure you’ll love that and everyone will appreciate your loyalty while you rot in jail. They'll all say what a standup guy Raymond Terney is.”

Terney immediately picked up his cell phone and began dialing.

“Hey man, it’s me Raymond. Look could you and Mr. Quinn come over right now. It’s kinda important. It’s about that deal we did two months back. Ya, just come over. I’m waiting.”

Raymond Terney put the phone down. He was visibly sweating now.

“They’ll be here in ten minutes.” He said as he wiped the beads of sweat off his forehead.

Martine and Fusco sat back and waited.

 

Less than ten minutes later the two men walked into the room.

"What's this about Raymond? I thought we settled that business." Simmons had just started to speak when he turned and saw the two detectives sitting on the sofa.

"What the fuck? Did you rat us out, Terney, because if you did I swear to god I'll.." Simmons began yelling at Raymond who had no intentions of taking it lying down.

"Well fuck you too, Simmons. You ratted me out first. They told me that you showed them footage of me loading up the containers in the truck."

"What the fuck are you talking about? Have you lost your mind. Don't you remember we turned off the cameras for that night. How can you be this stupid."

Alonso Quinn finally stepped ahead.

"Gentlemen, calm down. It seems that we've been played."

Terney looked at the two men sheepishly. Simmons was still furious. They both sat down. Alonso Quinn turned towards the two Detectives and smiled.

"Well played, Detectives. However you can never prove any of this in court. We'll never admit to have said any of this."

"Then it's a good thing that we recorded this little tirade of yours." Martine stood up and smiled.

"That's all well and good, but there would still be the question of how admissible it would all be in court."

Fusco decided to intervene.

"Look, there is no reason to do any of this. We're not interested in any of your business dealing legal or otherwise. We just want to know what happened that night. You tell us that and we forget any of this ever happened. If not then we hand over this tape to our friends at Robbery division. I also have some friends over at Organised Crime. I am sure with the evidence we've gathered they will definitely be able to put up a case."

The entire room fell silent. Alonso Quinn thought about it for a second and then nodded his head.

"Could we get some coffee first?" Alonso Quinn said.

Raymond passed on the order to his secretary who walked in a few minutes later with five cups of coffee. They all took their cups and waited for someone to start the conversation. Just as Martine was about to speak, Raymond spoke up.

"Claire, why don't you stay as well. You're as much a part of this as I am."

Simmons and Quinn turned and stared at Raymond. The looks on their faces told the detectives that this bit of information was news to them too.

Fusco stood up and looked at Claire.

"Why don't you sit right there and make yourself comfortable."

Claire tried to protest for a seconds but thought better of it.

"Alright, now that we're all here, how about you tell us what exactly happened two months back. And don't leave out anything." Fusco said.

Alonso Quinn took the lead.

"Well, about a little over two months ago I came to office one morning and found a parcel on my desk. It contained details about all of our businesses. Like everything. Someone had gotten into our files and had stolen all of our information. Anyways the moment I put down the papers, the phone rang. It was uncanny, as if I was being watched. I even had my office swept for bugs afterwards, but there was nothing."

Quinn paused a bit to take a sip of his coffee and then he continued.

"It was woman's voice. She said the parcel was just a way to keep us in line. So we wouldn't try anything. Anyways she said she wanted to buy something from us off the books. If we agreed to the deal, then she would never reveal our information to anyone. It's not like I had much of a choice. The funny thing is she even offered to pay for it."

"What did she want?" Martine asked.

"A whole bunch of stuff. Nine barrels of Pentobarbital, six beds and a refrigerated truck. There was a bunch of other stuff too which I can't remember right now. I'm sure I have a list somewhere. She was very specific."

"And you never wondered why she wanted any of it."

"Hey man, she had us by the balls. If I didn't give her what she wanted she was going to have us all thrown in prison."

"So what happened next." Fusco asked.

"Nothing, we did what we were told. We put all the stuff in one of Raymond's trucks. He was supposed to drive it out to a designated location and leave it there. We had already received a package that contained half the cash. We were going to receive the other half later. We tried to trace the call and everything but whoever that woman was, she was very good with technology."

"And that's it."

"Pretty much or at least that's what even I thought. But something tells me that might not be the whole story." Quinn turned and looked towards Raymond Terney who had started sweating even more. He realized that bringing Claire into this might not have been the smartest of ideas. But then this entire situation had happened due to some incredibly stupid ideas.

"Come one Raymond, now's not the time to be shy." Simmons spoke. He looked murderously at the man.

"Mr. Quinn it wasn't my idea. It was all hers. She talked me into it." Raymond pointed towards his secretary.

Claire jumped out of the sofa.

"You son of a bitch. Mr. Quinn, this had nothing to do with me. He decided that he wanted to some extra cash."

"You bitch, I knew I never should have trusted you."

"Oh yeah, after fudging your accounts and let you fuck me every evening for the past two years, now you have a problem trusting me. Well, fuck you Raymond."

Claire looked as if she was going to run over and strangle Raymond.

Martine got up and stood in the middle.

"Alright enough. We don't give a shit who's fucking whom. We just want to know what happened and you, sit down. Now." Martine told Claire.

Claire sat down and raymond began to tell his side of the story.

"After we got the truck back from Mr. Quinn's place, I was going to instruct one of the guys to drive it out to the location. Mr. Quinn had said that there was no need for double cross. Since we had already received a partial payment. He had given me the woman's number incase something went wrong."

"But things did go wrong, didn't they?" Fusco said.

"Look, as I said it wasn't my idea. Claire knew everything about the deal. She said that maybe we call the woman and tell her to pick up the truck from the garage. When she shows up, we kill her, take the money and then sell the medical equipment ourselves."

"I didn't want to do it, but she said if I didn't she would tell me wife. I told her the woman would never fall for it but Claire insisted. She said if I was chicken she would make the call so I told her to do it."

Raymond was sweating profusely by now. It was as if in the middle of this peaceful winter he had managed to find his own equatorial hell hole.

"And did you talk to her?" Martine asked Claire.

"Yes."

"What did she sound like?"

"I don't know. She had a nice voice. Playful."

"And did she agree to your proposal?"

"Actually she did. She laughed a bit and then said sure why not. I don't know it seemed odd. Like she wasn't even the least bit bothered. I annoyed the hell out of me. It was like she didn't have any respect for me."

Fusco just shook his head.

"Alright then what."

"We put the truck in the garage and waited. I had about five guys with guns waiting in the back. Claire had told her to show up by eleven that night. Anyways we waited and waited, but even at half past eleven no one came. We all were planning to leave when the lights went out. I walked towards the office window to see what was going on and the strangest thing happened. For the briefest moment I saw someone standing at the garage entrance, it seemed like a woman, and then she disappeared and then it got even more crazy. I heard sounds like growling and barking and all sorts of strange animal noises. Everything turned pitch black. I couldn't see a thing. I could gunfire but it sounded muffled like it was coming from far away. Anyways, I think the darkness lasted for about five minutes and then the lights came on and the truck was just.... gone."

"What do you mean gone?" Fusco asked.

"I mean gone. I wasn't there no more. I never even heard the engine start. And not just that but two of my guys went missing and there were these scratches and claw marks on a whole bunch of my truckss. I think the bitch had an army of dogs or something."

They all stared at him in disbelief. All except Claire.

"I'm telling you the truth. I have the footage from that night."

He took out a key from his pocket and opened one his desk drawers. He took out a small hard drive and plugged it into his laptop. He turned it around to face the crowd and played the footage.

The footage at first seemed normal. Just grainy night time footage of the garage and then as the time code crossed eleven thirty five everything went dark. The footage also had sound. What they saw and heard completely defied explanation. The darkness was full of strange noises. A mix of scratches, growls, barks and other sounds they couldn't quite make out. Sometimes they could even catch words of what could have been a language but nothing like anything anyone had heard before. Through all of it they couldn't see anything. It was nothing but pure darkness.

But then it happened, for the briefest second they caught the glimpse of something. Something small. It flew past the camera. Fusco told Raymond to pause the footage. They all bent in towards the screen to see what it was, but it was too blurry to make out. It seemed unnatural. The back looked as it had spikes jutting out of it. The two detectives tried to mentally compare the image to any kind of animal they had even seen in their life and came up with nothing. The only things they could come up with were strange creature they might have seen in horror films. After a while they gave up.

"I'm going to need a copy of this footage and details of the truck." Fusco announced. Raymond just nodded in return.

"So you tried to double cross her and she still managed to fool you guys."

"I guess. I don't know what happened that night. But I wouldn't want to run into her again."

"Alright one final question. Is there a way to trace the truck?" Fusco asked hopefully.

Raymond Terney shook his head.

"I had put in a tracer, just in case, but I got it back the next day in a small brown paper bag along with the rest of the cash. I'm sorry."

"Well gentlemen and lady thank you for your cooperation. It's most appreciated and behave yourselves." Fusco smiled at everyone sitting in the room and he and Martine walked out.

 

As the stepped into the lobby Fusco turned towards Martine and spoke.

"What do you think is going to happen to them?"

"I don't know. You reap what you sow, I guess."

They both knew that the chances of Raymond and Claire's survival were extremely slim. But they were hardly what could be called innocent. They decided that they would hand off their findings to someone at Organised Crime and Racketeering and let them deal with it.

As they got into their car Fusco once again spoke.

"While all of this was very educational, we have barely moved away from square one. We still have no way of tracking our mystery woman."

"At least we know it's a woman. That's something." Martine replied as she started the car to drive back to the precinct.

 

* * *

 

 

"So your info, however unreliable at the time has been corroborated. It is a woman." Capt. Moreno said.

Martine and Fusco were back in the Captain's office the next day to give her the update on the case.

"Yes Ma'am. But we still have no way of tracking her down. In a city this size, finding that truck would be like trying to find a needle in a pile of needles. That truck might as well be invisible." Fusco remarked.

"I understand, but at least you both can be happy about the fact that your theory was correct. There is someone out there who is targeting criminals. That's a fair bit of progress in ten days."

"Yes Ma'am." Martine said.

Both the detectives looked a little disheartened, not knowing where to go next.

"Well there's no point looking grumpy. I just might have some news for you. I am hoping it's good."

The detectives looked at their captain in hope.

"I got a call from Dr. Parish last evening. She said she'll drop by today sometime. She might have found something. So stop looking like lost puppies, who knows this might be the break you both are looking for."

The captain' last words almost turned out to be prophetic.

 

Lanie Parish showed up an hour later and found both the Detective whiling away their time. While Det. Fusco had his legs up on his desk playing some game on his smartphone, something that his son had shown him, Det. Martine looked positively scary as she sat at her desk cleaning her service weapon.

 

"Am I interrupting anything important? I could come back later if you two are really busy." Lanie Parish said. Gently mocking the detectives.

Fusco stumbled a bit as he put his phone down and struggled to stand up. Martine, in the meantime stood up and shook the doctor's hand.

"Just tell us you have some good news."

"I have something. Not sure if it's good or bad or nothing at all. So don't pin your hopes on me."

"We'll take anything at this moment." Fusco said as he finally managed to stand up.

"OK. I found something on the victim's shoe. It was embedded in his sole. I would say that he was probably dragged across a floor. I ran some basic tests, it is asbestos of some sort."

The two detectives looked as the good doctor continued.

"If I can find out where that came from I can tell you exactly where Jacob was killed. The problem is I'm not very good at this sort of stuff." Lanie paused.

"But... there's always a but." Fusco said expectantly.

Lanie chuckled.

"Yes, there is a "but". But I know someone who is good with this sort of analysis. Actually he wrote the book about this kind of forensics analysis. Several books, in fact. My old teacher from back at the academy. The one who taught me about forensics. Gil Grissom."

"I've heard of him. I've even read some of his books. He is brilliant. You think he'll help us?" Martine asked.

"That's what I'm hoping. Even though he's retired now but he still consults with various law enforcement agencies all the time. I took permission and forwarded the sample to him. If anyone can find anything from the sample, he can."

"Well, that is good news. And when will he get back to us?"

"Actually, he's coming here, to our city. He's supposed to be giving a lecture at the Police Academy. He'll be here in a five days. He said he'll have something for us by then."

"This is great. Thank you so much, Dr. Parish" Fusco exclaimed.

 

* * *

 

Root stared at her naked form in the bathroom mirror. Physically she had changed a lot in the past seven to eight months. She looked a lot more muscular that she had ever been. She figured all those times she had to drag dead bodies or drums full of chemicals was finally paying off. But the more striking change had been how pale she had gotten, even her eyes had started to lose color. She knew that that was because of all the time she had been spending in the shadow realm. She was slowly picking up their characteristics. She was just thankful that she hadn't started to grow claws or fangs.

Over the last couple of months she had also slowly and steadily developed a strong aversion to sunlight. She mostly avoided going out in daytime or she wore a hoodie no matter the temperature outside. She had also noticed that she could see a lot better in darkness. She had also gotten a lot stronger, far more that what could just be attributed to all the physical labour that she been doing. There was something else, a new kind of sense that she had developed. It was difficult to explain but somehow she was able to sense impending chaos or violence. There were a number of times over the past month when she would be out wandering in the evening and she would inadvertently find herself witness to an accident of some sort. Sometimes she would even reach the place before the event actually transpired.

There were times she would imagine herself as some kind of a superhero but then given her recent past she figured that maybe she was more a super villain. Not that she had any issues with that, since that had never been the point of this entire exercise.

 

"Are you planning on coming out anytime soon, Princess, or do you want me to join you in there?" Sameen's voice broke her reverie.

"I wouldn't mind that." Root poked her head out of the bathroom and smiled at Sameen.

"Given that I've already done that, twice. Maybe it's time you got ready. After all you're the one who's taking me out for dinner and you still haven't told me where."

"I told you, it's a surprise. You just have to dress formally." Root said.

A few minutes later she stepped out of the bathroom dressed in an beautiful blue dress.

She stopped in her tracks as she saw Sameen standing in front of her in her full Grim Reaper glory. She towered over her at nearly eight feet in height with her massive scythe gleaming in the evening light that poured in through the window.

"What the fuck?"

"What, you said dress formally. This is formal." Even though root couldn't see Sameen's face she knew she was grinning under that hood.

"You want to come like that, fine. But if half the place ends up dying out of fright it will just mean more work for you."

Sameen chuckled and transformed into her feminine form wearing a elegant white dress.

"Better?"

"Much better." Root smiled.

As they both began to leave Root stopped again.

"Oh, and one more thing."

"What?"

"This time you better be visible to everyone and not just me. The last time we went for a walk and it took me half an hour to realize that you were only visible to me. I don't want people to start thinking that I'm insane." Root complained.

"Root you are a psychotic serial killer. You're the definition of insane."

"I know that, but I don't want people to start thinking that I hear voices too."

"Oh fine. You're no fun at all." Sameen dramatically rolled her eyes and left the apartment.

Root laughed. The last month had been the best month of her entire life. Even though she hadn't killed anyone in over a month and that was an itch she was dying to scratch, Sameen had been true to her word. She had visited her every few days and had even spent some nights with her. There really wasn't anything more she could ask for.

But of late here new found senses had been putting her on edge. She felt as if a storm was approaching. She was just unable to figure out which direction it was coming from.


	6. THE CALM BEFORE...

The flow of time has never been constant. It’s speed always varies based upon the mental state of the viewer.

For Root the days were light and breezy. She spent them in the company of her love and they went by quickly. In hindsight she wished that maybe they could have gone by slower so she could have savoured every moment.

For the detectives, the next three days were the most excruciatingly slow days of their lives, especially given the fact that waiting definitely wasn’t Martine’s strong suit and with no cases on their docket they were just left to their own devices.

It was late evening on the second day after Dr. Parish had told them about the evidence that she had recovered. Fusco had managed to finish all the levels on his mobile game at least thrice, whereas Martine had cleaned her gun so many times that Fusco feared that it might just fall apart from the constant cleaning.

"I am bored." said Fusco.

"So am I." replied Martine as she cleaned the barrel of her gun for the umpteenth time.

"Do you know any other games I could play?"

"Do I look like I play video games?"

Fusco kept staring at her, his eyes looking dead from the lack of action. Martine relented.

"Try something called Flowfree. I used to play it a lot during my stakeouts in Chicago, it's not bad."

"Yes." Fusco said triumphantly and he was about to go back to playing when he spotted Laskey walking by with another detective.

“Mike.” Fusco called out.

Mike Laskey and the female latino detective stopped and turned around. Lionel got up and walked to them.

"Hi Mike, how fares the outside world?"

Laskey laughed a little.

"Are you missing the action, detective. I thought you were happy about getting back to your vigilante case."

"I am. It's just... you know, investigations can sometimes slow down to a crawl."

In the meantime Martine had also decided to join up with them.

"What case?" asked the other detective.

Fusco had almost forgotten she was standing there.

"Oh nothing important, just a possible vigilante on the loose." replied Fusco not wanting to share the details of their case with a stranger, "We've never met. Lionel Fusco, Homicide. This is my partner, Martine." Fusco held out his hand.

"Dani Silva. Gang Division." The other detective shook his hand and turned towards Martine and said, "I'm a big fan Detective Martine. I've heard about the work you did in Chicago."

Martine just smiled back.

"Is there anyone around here who isn't your fan?" Fusco pretended to lament the fact.

"What can I say, I am awesome." Martine replied with a big grin as she struck a pose like a superhero.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the winner of the modest person of the year award." Fusco said mockingly.

Everyone laughed.

"And you still haven't answered my question, Laskey. How are things out there?"

"I think you should ask Dani. She's the expert on the matter." Mike replied.

They all turned and looked at Dani, who suddenly found herself the centre of attention.

"Well, it's mostly the same. But I can say with some certainty that Elias is back in town."

"What makes you say that?" Martine asked curiously.

"Last night two members of The Brotherhood were hit along with someone from the Russian mob. All three of them were relatively higher up on the food chain. Given that The Brotherhood, even after Dominic, still controls a very large part of the city, no one is going to risk this kind of escalation unless they have nothing to lose."

"Makes sense. But this does mean that things will escalate." Martine said.

"Yeah, Dominic really screwed up. He had one chance to kill Elias and he missed." Laskey commented.

"Can't argue with that, kid." Fusco said.

"You sound like you like Elias." Dani commented.

"It's not that. It's just that if you're going to take the throne then you bloody well make sure that you kill the previous king otherwise you're going to spend the rest of your days looking over your shoulder. Just look at The Brotherhood right now. They think that Elias is hiding behind tree and lamp post."

"That I agree with completely. Right now they seem to afraid of their own shadows." Dani said.

"Oh well, nothing we can do about it. It's not like they are going to stop just because we asked politely." Martine said.

They all chuckled half heartedly and sighed. They were just thankful of the fact that the gang war hadn't claimed the lives of any cops so far. But with things escalating, it was just a matter of time before that happened.

"What are you to doing for dinner?" Fusco asked, "We were planning to go get some pizza. You two are most welcome to join us."

The two younger officers looked at each other and nodded their heads in agreement.

 

 

***

 

 

Root had just entered her apartment complex after spending the evening with Death. She was in a good mood. She was humming some song to herself from a movie they had just watched. She hadn't known that Sameen was something of a movie nerd. Sameen had told her that she liked collecting the souls of actors, directors and other technicians involved with movies so she could talk about the art of filmmaking with them before she escorted them to their predetermined destination.

She had told Root about Shakespeare and other older playwrights that she had met over the centuries. Root always enjoyed listening to those stories and Death told them so well.

Sometimes even Cole would drop by. Root had taken a liking to him too. He had also taught her a few more magical incantations and one day had even gotten her an old book of incantations from his collection. He had said the Root was a natural at it. He also seemed impressed by how much control Root had managed to get over the Shadow Realm, which was something that Sameen still didn't approve of. He had said that was rare.

Now a days Root always had a few of them hanging around her at all times like guard dogs.

 

 

Root had exited the lift on the eighth floor, the floor on which she lived, when she ran into Hannah. She was just about to enter her apartment when she had spotted Root getting out of the lift and stopped.

"Hi Sam... sorry, Root. That's what you prefer, right? I keep forgetting."

"It's fine. You can call me Sam, I don't mind." Root smiled at her.

Hannah and Root often spoke now a days or at least whenever they ran into each other.

"Where are you coming from?" Hannah asked.

"Movie. I had gone with Sameen." Root had often spoken to Hannah about Sameen even though they had never met.

"She's not with you?" Hannah asked.

"No, she had some work she needed to take care of."

"Ah, you want to come in for a coffee or something."

"Sure." Root replied.

Given Hannah's past with her abusive husband, it had taken her some time to open herself up to Root and invite her into her home. But since then Root had had coffee with Hannah at least four to five time. Root was glad to have some human company, especially company as nice as Hannah and Gen. Root had grown quite fond of the little girl. She was polite and playful and sometimes they would go to the park in the evenings when Hannah would get late coming back from work.

Hannah's apartment was nice. It was small but beautifully decorated. Even though Hannah wasn't very well off she had good taste. Root walked around the apartment and saw a few pictures hanging on the wall and some of them kept on tables. They were mostly of Hannah and Gen and there were a few that looked older, possibly of Hannah with her parents. Root, being an orphan, had never really known her parents and looking at those pictures made her wonder what it would have been like to have had a family.

"Do you take milk in your coffee, I always forget" Hannah asked from inside the kitchen.

"I take it black." Root replied.

A few minutes later Hannah walked out of the kitchen with two cups of coffee and some sandwiches.

"You really didn't have to." Root said.

"Oh, it's fine. Even though you are the only guest I ever have over, I shouldn't forget how to be a good host." Hannah smiled.

"These are good." Root said as she took a bite of one of the sandwiches.

"Thanks."

"Where's Gen?" Root asked, "Isn't she around?"

"She should be. She could be inside finishing her homework or reading one her books. She's gotten into reading spy novels. It's very odd for her age. It's like she completely skipped Enid Blyton and moved straight to Frederick Forsyth. She's been getting crazy ideas about becoming a spy."

Root laughed.

"Gen, where are you? Do you want some sandwiches?" Hannah called out to her daughter.

But there was no response. Hannah got up to look in on Gen when Root sensed something behind her. She turned around and saw the curtains move slightly. She cleared her throat to get Hannah's attention and pointed towards the curtain. Hannah smiled. She slowly crept up to the curtains and pulled them back to reveal her golden haired daughter.

"Damn it, you found me. How did you find me, I was so well hidden." Gen asked frustratedly.

"Well, it wasn't me. It was Root." Hannah smiled and confessed as she hugged her daughter.

"Hi, Root." said Gen as she got away from her mother's loving embrace and ran towards Root, "How did you know I was hiding there? I was so quiet."

"I have very keen senses." Root replied, "So your mom tells me you are training to be a spy."

"Yes. I've been reading all of these books and there are even some manuals on the internet. I have been learning how to shadow people." Gen said proudly.

"Wow, that's great. Are you any good?" Root asked.

"I am. I followed Mr. Kohl, from the fifth floor, and he never spotted me."

"Really, and what did he do?" Root asked with genuine interest.

"He went to the park and fed some birds." Gen sounded disappointed.

Root chuckled.

"No one said the life of a spy was supposed to be glamorous."

"Yeah, I was just thinking he would be like some old russian cold war spy or something, hiding here in America."

"Well, he's German, so he could be ex-Stasi. You never know. Keep at it who knows what secrets you might uncover and the next time I drop by I'll get you something that will help you with your spy training."

"Perfect. You're the best, Root." Gen gave her a peck on the cheek and ran back into her room.

"Root, don't encourage her. It's not nice following people and who knows what kind of a person this Mr. Kohl is." Hannah disapproved of the conversation.

"It's fine Hannah. Mr.Kohl isn't a spy. He's a sweet old man, who worked at the zoo his entire life. Besides I'll make sure she doesn't get into any kind of trouble."

Hannah sighed. She knew she couldn't talk her daughter out of it.

"As long as you promise to keep an eye on her."

"Promise. I'll stick to her like a shadow." Root replied with a smile.

"Good. Now I wanted to ask you something."

"Sure, go ahead."

Hannah looked a little uncertain.

"I was wondering if you and Sameen would like to come over for dinner someday." Hannah asked trepidatiously.

The offer took Root by surprise but she was glad it was made.

"I'd love to. But let me ask her. She's got a very erratic work schedule. The people she works for keep sending her all across the globe at a moments notice."

"That's gotta be rough."

"I guess so, but she loves her job. Anyways, I'll talk to her and we'll fix a date. I think sometime next week should be fine."

 

 

"No, Root. Absolutely not." Sameen said.

Death had dropped by later that night after having taken care of some war in some part of the world and Root had informed her of their dinner engagement.

"Come on. It will be fun."

"Root, I am Death. Death does not go to dinner parties."

"There's no rule like that." Root sat up on her bed looking at Sameen who was standing at the other end of the room.

"No, but it's the principle of the thing."

"Really, we eat out all the time."

"That's different." Sameen said defensively.

"They're nice people. You'll have fun. I promise."

"No and that's my final word."

"Please." Root pleaded.

"Stop making those puppy dog eyes at me. It's not going to make me change my mind."

Root kept staring at her like a lost puppy and for a while it turned into a staring competition.

"Fine. But just this once." Sameen finally relented.

"Yes" Root jumped with joy and got off the bed to hug Sameen.

Sameen immediately stepped back and held out her hand to stop the invading one woman army of affection.

"Root, what have I told you about hugging me?"

Root stopped in her tracks and pretended to think about it for a second.

"That you want me hug you all the time." saying that she rushed towards Death, who promptly disappeared.

Root almost ran into the wall.

"Hey, not fair. Fine have it your way, but you won't escape my grasp forever." Root said out loud, like an evil Bond villain, in the empty room where the presence of Death still lingered.

As she went back to bed she thought about next week's dinner. She was knew they were going to have a great time.

 

 

***

 

 

Fusco and Martine along with Dr. Parish sat in the Police Academy auditorium where Dr. Gil Grissom was giving a lecture to the attendees about the importance of Forensics in day to day police work. Most of it had turned out to be quite technical and had gone over the heads of both the detectives but Dr. Parish seemed riveted by the lecture. Even though they hadn't understood a lot of what had been said they both agreed that the man was a genius in his field. But essentially they were just waiting for the lecture to get over so they could have their five minutes with the man.

"At the end of the day you must remember that you can have all the forensic evidence in the world at your fingertips, all the clues you need, but if you are unable to put them all together they are all useless. So train your mind and learn to connect the dots. Ladies and Gentleman, on that note I conclude this session." Dr. Grissom said as he wrapped up his lecture.

The crowd stood up and gave the man a standing ovation. As he was getting off the stage he was surrounded by young police officers wanting to talk to the man personally. He politely indulged all of them. The detectives and Dr. Parish stood back and waited till the crowd had died away which took almost another half an hour.

After the crowd had finally left, Dr. Grissom and the other three finally made their way to the staff cafeteria for some peace and quiet so they could discuss the case without any interruptions. They all ordered some coffee and Dr. Grissom reached into his bag to retrieve a file which contained the information he had.

"Now that we've dispensed with the pleasantries, shall we get started?" Dr. Grissom asked.

"Sure." Martine replied.

The man opened the file and went through some of his notes. He took out a small plastic pouch which, the detectives assumed, was the sample that Dr. Parish had sent to him.

"Lanie here was right about the basics, this is asbestos. It's essentially vinyl flooring. It was used in schools, commercial building and even warehouses till about the late 1980s after which it was discontinued due to health concerns."

"Is it possible to narrow it down a particular location?" Fusco asked.

"Not really. This stuff was quite commonly used. Even though I can say that it was manufactured in this state since the chemical composition shows traces of elements that were common to manufacturers in this state especially in and around this city. I did run some tests, what I can say for a fact is that this piece of the flooring is about 45 years old. So essentially from sometime in the late 70s."

"That's old. So what are we looking for then. Some place that's been abandoned since the 80s." Martine said.

"Possible. Or maybe not. Even if the place was renovated, sometimes, in order to save costs, the builder would just lay down new flooring on top of the previous one. So the place might not have been abandoned for that long. From the wear and tear on this sample I would say you're looking for a some place that was abandoned for about ten to fifteen years maybe even slightly lesser."

"I guess that might narrow it down a little?" Fusco said, trying to sound hopeful.

Dr. Grissom smiled and he took out a sheet of paper from his file.

"I might have something that might help you in your search. Based on the chemical makeup of the tile I took the liberty of looking up which companies manufactured and supplied vinyl flooring for that kind in this area during the seventies. If you can find out which places they supplied to and which ones are now shuttered you might at least have a place to start."

Martine took the list eagerly. She knew the list of schools and companies would be huge but, as the good doctor had said, it was at least a start.

"Also based on what Dr. Parish told me about the body, I am going to assume that you are looking for a place large enough to hide a truck."

"Yes." Fusco was impressed that the man had reached a similar conclusion as them with so little to go on. The man's reputation was well earned.

"Then I would suggest looking in the outskirts of the city or even slightly further away. The killer would want to have some peace and quiet and even more than that he or she wouldn't want somebody accidently stumbling into their territory. Also the wear and tear on the sample suggests that the place could be windy, not a lot of trees around."

"You can tell that from that tiny little piece." Fusco asked.

"You'd be surprised how much information is stored even in the smallest of things. Wind causes a lot of damage. If it's a warehouse of sorts and the windows are gone, the entire place turns into a kind of windtunnel, if it's facing in the right direction most probably the west, since we get a hit by the westerlies. It's not necessary for it to face east west but it's highly likely. The reason for no trees being that trees would obstruct the flow of wind and the damage would be a lot lesser."

Martine was furiously taking down notes.

"Well, that's all I have. Do you two have any other questions?" Gil Grissom asked as he closed the file.

The detectives looked at each other trying to think if there was anything else on their minds.

"Nothing that we can think of at the moment." Fusco replied.

"Alright. But here's my number and the hotel where I am staying. I am going to look up a few friends while I am here so I will be in town for another couple of weeks. If you come up with anything before that then feel free to call." saying that Dr. Grissom handed them the file and got up. The detectives and Dr. Parish followed suit.

Lanie decided to walk Dr. Grissom to his car as the detectives decided to head off in the other direction leaving the two of them to catch up on old times.

"Alright, so this gives us is something to go on." Martine said holding out the the list of manufacturers.

"Yeah."

"But where do we start. How do we get names of places that used their stuff?"

Fusco was quiet for a while and then his eyes lit up.

"I know just where we can start and I know exactly who to ask."

"Who?" Martine asked.

"Harold. The man's like a walking encyclopedia when it comes to every tiny bit of information about the city, not just crime. He's better than any database that we can find. We'll visit his library tomorrow."

 

 

The next day bright and early the two detectives ended up at Harold Finch's library. It was an old quaint little store which was packed to the brim with books on all subjects. The place didn't have a very imaginative name and was just called The Library.  Harold Finch lived not too far from the place and was usually present at his place of work by nine thirty. The detectives arrived by ten.

"Detectives, this is an unexpected pleasure. What can I do for you? Would you like some tea?" Harold said.

"Sure, tea would be great." Martine replied.

"Coffee, if you have it." Fusco said. He had never developed a taste for tea.

Harold got up to make the requested beverages.

"Where's your assistant. The big guy?" Fusco asked.

"Mr. Reese? It's his day off. He'll be back tomorrow." Harold replied.

As Harold finished making the tea and coffee, Martine and Fusco were going through the vast collection of books that Harold had. Martine liked to read and there were books here that she hadn't seen in years and a lot that she had never even heard off. She was fascinated by an entire section on Mythology especially a strange book that was titled The World in Shadows. It talked about how some cultures believed that there was another world that existed solely within the our shadows. She went through a few pages and for a moment wondered if any of it was true, if that was what Kenny had seen, before she realised that she was grown woman who didn't believe in imaginary monsters.

"Detectives?" Harold called out as he came out of the small kitchen with the tea and coffee.

Soon everyone was sitting at the table having their drink.

"Now, lets begin again. What brings you to my library?" Harold asked.

"We need your help." replied Fusco as he proceeded to explain to him about the vigilante, that Harold had originally theorized, and their current requirement.

Harold listened and then got up to go get some book from deep within the library. He returned with an old thin ledger.

"I started to convert all of the data I have gathered over the years into a digital format. But I don't always remember the names of the files so I write them down in this." He explained as he looked for the name of the file he needed.

He took out his laptop and began to go through the file till he found what he was looking for.

"So, if I have understood correctly, what you're looking for are factories and warehouse that have been abandoned for about ten to twenty years give or take. Correct?"

"Yes, but with vinyl flooring." Martine added.

"Yes, well they all had vinyl flooring because it was cheap. But you're also looking for places that are out of the way. On the outskirts of the city."

"Yes."

"Ok, I think I have what you're looking for. I keep a list of places like that because they invariable become hubs of criminal activity or places where you can discreetly dump bodies. Alright so here we go."

Harold started to write down some names and addresses on a piece of paper. He then got up and again disappeared inside the library. He came back out with a giant map of the city which he spread on the table. Martine and fusco hurriedly cleared the table as he did so.

Harold looked up the list and started to mark locations on the map. They were spread out but mostly on the outskirts. As he finished marking them, Martine began to copy the addresses onto her phone.

"Alright, so these are the places I believe are relevant right now. As far as my knowledge is concerned nobody is using these places, so these would be a good place to start your search. If you come up empty I'll mark down more places but I don't think that will be the case."

He folded the map and handed it to them.

 

 

***

 

 

The detectives explained their situation to their captain who gave them the required permission and they began to go through the nearly dozen odd places that Harold had marked on the map. It was slow going since most places were pretty far out of the city and it would take them hours to get there and come back but they had still managed to cross off eight location on the list in three day. It was a Friday when they were back on the road to their tenth place having come up empty with the ninth abandoned building they had visited.

"So which one was that?" Martine asked as they drove away from the place.

"That was...." Fusco began to go through the list," SNOW PHARMACEUTICALS. Shut down in 1988 due to some legal hassle regarding inheritance. Case is still in court."

"Wonderful. what's next?" Martine asked tiredly. The constant driving that they had done over the last few days had left them both weary.

"Tell you what, we'll do one more and do the final two on Monday. Have a nice restful weekend. Lord knows we deserve it."

"Sounds great." Martine cheered up slightly.

"Okay then. The next one is CORWIN FOUNDRY AND METAL WORKS. Ooh.. this place has an interesting story." Fusco said.

"Really, what" Martine asked curiously.

"Alright, so it was started by Alicia Corwin who died sometime in the 90s under mysterious circumstances. Some say she was killed by her children. Anyways, there was a major fire in the foundry after her death which caused a lot of damage. They repaired it, went back to work but again there was an accident. Apparently there were a total of seven accidents which led to five deaths. After that everyone started to say that the place was haunted. That Alicia was trying to get revenge. Eventually the place was abandoned and they shifted to another location. The funny thing is a week after they shifted her son died in the new foundry when a giant smelting pot fell on him. Killed him on the spot. After that there were no more accidents. Her niece took over the business." Fusco concluded the tale of Alicia Corwin.

"Spooky." Martine said.

"Yeah, but you know what I have a good feeling about this place." Fusco said.

Half an hour later they reached their destination. It was evening and the abandoned foundry definitely looked every bit as creepy as they had imagined and the story that Fusco had told definitely wasn't helping.

The compounds wall were broken and even the road leading up to the entrance nor the roads inside were any good. The place was laid out in a relatively logical fashion with an old broken down sentry post. A fairly large parking area for the staff and the visitors when the place had had them. Beyond the parking was the central building and a couple of smaller buildings on the side that could have been for administrative purposes.

Martine and Fusco decided to skip the smaller buildings since the idea was to look for the truck. They went through the central building which was nothing more than a vast empty cavernous room since all the equipment had been removed years ago. There really wasn't much to see since there was no place anyone could have hidden a truck in that vast empty space. They turned and were about to leave when Martine stopped.

"What?" Fusco asked.

"I want to check out the rest of the building."

"The upper floors, why? How would anyone take a truck up there?"

"I don't know but I just want to see it anyways. It's a weird feeling but I just feel like we should see it."

Fusco didn't argue.

"Well lets be quick about it. It's getting dark."

Martine nodded and they both headed upstairs. The entire building was three floors, including the ground floor, and as they were climbing Fusco realized that the building was facing west with the light of the setting sun pouring in through the broken windows and the wind had started to pick up as they climbed higher. Fusco remembered everything that Dr. Grissom had said. But it still made no sense to him to look at the upper floors. There was no ramp in the building to take an entire truck up to the upper floors. But he had no problems with indulging his partner’s whims since this was their final stop for the day.

The first floor was the same as the ground, vast and empty as was the second.

"Lets go back Martine, there's nothing here." Fusco said as he caught his breath from the climb.

"Come on big guy, It's just one more floor." Martine smiled and climbed on as her overweight partner followed her.

As they started their climb they started to notice a fragrance in the air which got them both curious. The climbed up to the floor and were met by the strangest of sights.

"What the fuck?" Fusco exclaimed as he and Martine stood there looking at what was in front of them trying to make sense of it.

Part of the entrance to the floor seemed to have been blocked by a huge flowering plants and mushrooms growing out of the ground. They wondered where they were getting their nourishment from. They looked up and saw that the roof was broken so they figured the rain could have helped but it still didn't explain this kind of remarkable growth. They strangely felt that they had finally found what they were looking for, that maybe this was the place but the there was still no truck in sight.

It has gotten dark by the time they had reached the top, with the floor barely lit by the evening light but they decided to push on. They crossed the flowery barrier and in the distance they could see a metal chair fallen on it's side.  As they walked towards it, the object of their interest, after weeks of searching, finally revealed itself.

There it stood to their right, hidden behind the pillars, a massive black truck with the dying light of the sun barely reflecting of it's matte finished exterior, like some giant beast resting and waiting for it's master's call.

"We found it. I can't believe it, Martine. We actually found it." Fusco spoke to his partner who seemed transfixed by the sight, still unbelieving.

A few seconds later she turned to him and smiled.

"Yes we did" she said and ran towards the truck as if she wanted to hug it.

"Don't touch that thing, it's evidence." cried Fusco as he ran behind her partner.

Huffing and puffing he caught up with her as she stood there, grinning like an idiot, admiring the truck.

"We..." Fusco started to speak and paused to catch his breath, "We should call it in."

"Yeah, you do it. I'm going to look around a little bit." said Martine and she took off once again albeit at a much slower pace. It had gotten dark and she had no intentions of hurting herself accidentally.

"This place is huge. You could fit nearly twenty trucks like that in here." she said to Fusco as he was making the call to their Captain.

"I just have one question?" Martine continued.

"Don't ask it because I have no idea. We found it and that's what matters." Fusco said as he put down the phone.

 

 

Less than an hour later the place was swarming with cops and forensic teams. Even the captain herself had decided to drop by along with Dr. Parish. As the others got to work, the detectives walked around the place slowly canvassing the location.

"Good job, you two." Captain Moreno said as she approached them.

"Thank you ma'am. I just hope we find something useful." Martine replied.

"I'm sure we will. They're going to bag and tag everything and go through it with a fine tooth comb. If there's anything here they'll find it." Captain Moreno pointed towards Dr. Parish as she walked up to them.

"Yeah, but the place has been abandoned for sometime now." Lanie said as she approached them.

"How long?" Martine asked.

"Can't be too certain, but there's a thick layer of dust on everything. If I was to guess, could be anywhere from a few weeks to a couple of months."

"Hmm. So you think Jacob might have been one of her last. I mean we found Jacob nearly two months ago." Martine said.

"It's possible. But I can't say for sure. There are a few things here that make very little sense and I still have that one question in my head that I can't seem to get out." Lanie Parish said.

Fusco could already anticipate the question that was coming since it was on everyone's mind.

"Don't ask it, Dr. Parish. We are as clueless about it as anyone else." Fusco answered the unasked question.

"How did the truck get up here?" Lanie asked the question regardless.

Fusco just shook his head and Martine laughed.

"Well if we are asking impossible questions I've got one for you." Martine said.

Lanie and the captain turned towards her.

"Can you explain that?" Martine pointed towards the wall of flowers and mushrooms.

"I haven't had the time to look at it closely and it is weird I agree, but I can explain it." saying that she began to walk towards the flowers.

As they reached the flower bed, Lanie pointed towards the left side and they saw a what looked like a giant bathtub.

"If my guess is correct, your killer figured out a way for rapid chemical decomposition of the bodies, which is why none of the bodies, except Jacob ever turned up. She turned them all to manure. The garden however seems incidental. I am assuming that seeds just flew in on the wind and landed there. I mean, it is pretty fertile."

"Wow, I didn't even know something like that was possible." Fusco commented.

"Neither did I. But then this entire place is full of strange and impossible things. But I'll guarantee you this much. If she's touched anything in here we'll find her in a couple of days." Lanie promised.

 

 

***

 

 

Root was once again  in the corridor talking to Hannah oblivious of the goings-on in the outside world.

"So you're coming for dinner, right?" Hannah asked.

"Absolutely. Wednesday evening, we'll both be there." Root answered with a smile.

"Great. Gen's really looking forward to it. We haven't had guests for dinner in a very long time. Oh by the way, I completely forgot to tell you something."

"What?" Root asked.

"You remember my ex. The guy you beat up."

"Yeah."

"Well, the police came by a few days ago and informed me that they found his body. Apparently he'd been missing for a while."

"Really, my god, what happened to him?"

"The cops said he od'd on something and drove his car into a ravine, which is why no one found him. They said it was pretty open and shut. They found my number on his phone and just came by to inform me."

"Well, I don't know what to say."

"I know I should feel bad, but honestly I'm glad."

"Good riddance to bad rubbish, right?" Root said.

"Yeah, absolutely." Hannah said smiling a little, not wanting to seem too callous, "Well, see you on Wednesday." saying that Hannah entered her apartment leaving Root alone in the corridor.

As she turned to go towards her apartment, she found Death blocking her path.

"Woah, where did you come from?" Root was genuinely surprised.

"I heard that." replied Sameen.

"Heard what?" Root was little confused by the way in which this conversation had started.

"About Hannah's ex. You killed him, don't try to deny it."

Root was silent for a few seconds and then finally confessed.

"Yes, I did."

"Root, you promised. You gave me your word you wouldn't kill anyone else." Death sounded furious.

"Hey, I've kept my word. I killed that moron before I made that promise, you can check your books, and I had good reason to. I had the shadows watching him and they told me that he was planning to come back and hurt Hannah and he wanted to kidnap Gen. I couldn't let that happen."

"And calling the police never crossed your mind."

"Sameen, in your own words, I am a raving psychopath. I don't go to the cops. Besides I kept it clean. You heard her, they think it's an accident caused by a drug overdose."

"I give up. You're hopeless." Sameen sighed.

"But you still love me. So, you've picked out what you're going to wear on Wednesday."

"Well, come on let's go shopping. I'll help you pick out something. You could model for me." Root said cheekily.

 

 

***

 

 

It was Monday and it had been two days since all the evidence had been gathered and brought up to the forensics lab. The captain had pulled a lot of strings and had gotten their case priority. She had also ensured that the news hadn't leaked to the media. She didn't want the media to make some kind of stupid announcement and alert their serial killer. She figured once they had the evidence needed and an arrest was made then they would have ample time to brag about it in the media. If this arrest could indeed lead to the stopping of the ongoing gang war, she could see a promotion in everyone's future including hers. But for that they first had to find some hard evidence that could help them identify their perpetrator.

No sooner had she thought that, the two detectives walked into her office all excited and it wasn't hard to figure out what they were excited about.

But instead of talking they both just stood there grinning like idiots.

"Well is anyone going to tell me or do I have to guess." Captain Moreno asked.

"Dr. Parish called me yesterday and told me she had finally found some fingerprints on a metal fork that they had found at the crime scene. Seems like our perp liked having meals there. Anyways, there was nothing in the our databases so I called Carter to see if she could run it through the FBI's new database and they found her through some minor traffic violation from nearly fifteen years ago in another city."

"Well, that's all well and good, but do you have her name?" the captain asked.

"Yes, Samantha Groves." Martine said as she put down the file on the table, "We ran her name through the DMV database and found her address."

The captain opened her file and looked at the photograph.

"That's her. She looks so innocent."

"We thought the same thing. But her's are the only fingerprints that we could find. It has to be her." Martine replied.

"So what's your next move?"

"Fusco want's to go and arrest her right away but I think we should watch her for a couple of days. Just to be on the safe side."

"I think we should move in right now with a couple of officers and arrest her." Fusco said.

"Fusco, are you forgetting everything she's done? Back when I was in New Mexico dealing with the cartels we were watching this guy who we thought was a simple accountant for the Cartel. My partners went in to make the arrest with just two other officers as backup. Turned out the guy was a trained assassin. We lost four officers that day because we decided to judge a book by it's cover. I'm not going to make the same mistake again."

"I agree with Detective Martine. Put her under surveillance for a couple of days and then we'll move in with a SWAT team. I'm not going to lose her and I am definitely not underestimating her. In the meantime I’ll arrange for a warrant." said the captain.

"Yes ma'am." replied the detectives.

"And another thing. Who else knows about this?"

"No one. Just the three of us. Even Dr. Parish doesn't know the name." Martine replied.

"Good. Keep it that way. I think we should play this one close to the vest. So watch her for a few days and once you're comfortable we'll make a move. I'll keep the SWAT team commander on notice."

The detectives agreed and decided to take turns watching this Samantha Groves.

 

 

***

 

 

"I am so glad the two of you came. I was so nervous. I haven't had guests over in so long." said Hannah as she served some drinks to Root and Sameen.

"Thank you for having us over." replied Sameen as she sat there rather awkwardly wondering what one was supposed to do in such a situation.

The last time she had done this, Augustus Caesar ruled Rome and most of the known world. It had been a huge banquet with hundreds of people and she had accompanied the son of a senator. This was nothing like that.

"So, how did the two of you meet?" Hannah asked as she sat opposite to them with a glass of juice in her hands.

"Well...." Root started but she was struggling to come up with a plausible answer when Death interrupted.

"We met at work." Sameen replied.

"Really, are you into software development as well?"

"Not really. I am basically an international courier. I transport sensitive material and I was picking up a delivery outside her previous office and she was just hanging around waiting for her bus." Sameen explained.

"International courier. That sounds exciting." Hannah said.

"It has it's moments."

"Yeah, and I saw her and I immediately needed to know who she was." Root said with a grin.

"Yes, so she started stalking me." Sameen said cheekily.

"Hey, I did not. Well, sorta , maybe. But we also had a professional relationship for a while."

"You did?" Hannah asked.

"Yeah, for a while she was producing some goods that I needed to ferry to distant shores." Sameen explained.

"When you put it like that it sounds very poetic." Hannah said.

Sameen just smiled back.

"But you're not working together anymore." Hannah asked Root.

"No, not anymore. The work was a little stressful and the hours were terrible." Root explained.

"And it wasn't very good for her health either." Sameen clarified further.

"Well, as long you two are together that's what matters, right?" Hannah said.

"Absolutely." replied Root as she slid a little closer to Death, who couldn't do anything as it was trapped between Root and the armrest of the sofa.

 

 

As their evening continued, Fusco sat in his car outside Root's apartment building eating a burger getting bored by the inactivity when Martine decided to drop by.

"Hey, how's it going partner?" Martine asked as she stepped into the car. She had a thick jacket on since the weather had started to get colder and there was a light snowfall.

"The same as yesterday. She got the dullest routine possible but I think today she at her neighbour's place for dinner with her girlfriend."

"Girlfriend?"

"Yeah, I decided to check out the building from the inside. I was lucky enough to cross them as they were getting into the neighbour's apartment. I checked the name, the apartment's on lease to one, Hannah Frey. She's clean. No priors of any sort. Her name did pop up in an open and shut case. Her ex died in a car accident, apparently he was doing drugs at the time. So, there's that."

"Hmm, interesting."

"So, what do you think, she's like quit or something?" Fusco asked.

"Possible. Lanie did say that the place hadn't been used in a while or she's just laying low. I mean, it is really crazy out there on the streets. Maybe she's just waiting for things to cool down and then she can get back to her favorite hobby."

"Yeah, I guess. But either ways, right now she's the most boring person on the planet. I think we should move in and arrest her."

"I agree. Let's do it tomorrow morning."

"Aaa... could we do it in the evening. There's some function at my son's school. I promised him I would be there, besides a few hours wouldn't make any difference."

"Alright, evening it is. I'll tell the captain to keep the SWAT team ready."

"Perfect."

 

 

They were all about to sit for dinner when Gen finally came out of her room. She had her exams in a few days and she had been studying.

"Hi Root, is this your girlfriend?" Gen asked.

"Yes." Root replied.

"Hi, I'm Gen. What's your name?" Gen introduced herself.

"I'm Sameen." Death replied.

"Very nice to meet you, Sameen." Gen held out her hand and Sameen shook it.

"Wow, your hands are so cold." Gen said as she rubbed her hands together.

"Sorry."

"No, it fine. I like the cold. I think winter's the best time of the year."

"You know what, me too." Sameen said.

"I like her." Gen whispered loudly to Root.

"Me too." Root whispered back.

They all sat down for dinner and as it turned out Hannah was a phenomenal cook and she was especially good at making steaks.

"I hope the food's good?" Hannah asked.

Root glanced over at Sameen who was too busy devouring her steak to answer the question.

"Oh, it's great. I'm sure Sameen would say the same thing but I think she's busy right now." Root replied with a smile.

Hannah looked over at Sameen and decided there was no need for an answer considering how occupied her guest was with eating the steak.

 

 

Dinner was finally over and they were about to leave when Gen ran upto Root.

"Root, you said you were going to get me something, to help me with my training."

"Training?" Sameen asked.

"Oh, she's learning how to be a spy." Root answered her girlfriend, "and yes I did get you something."

Root took out a thick ink pen from her pocket and handed it to Gen.

"A pen?" Gen sounded disappointed.

"Well, it's a lot more than that. But you have to figure out what else it can do."

Gen looked at the pen more closely and smiled.

"So it's a mystery. I like mysteries. Thanks Root. Bye Sameen."

Gen hugged them both and then ran back to her room.

"So, what exactly is it?" Hannah asked. She sounded a little worried wondering what Root might have given her daughter.

"Oh, it nothing, just a USB drive. She can copy her homework and stuff on it."

"Oh, that's nice. I'm sure she'll find it useful."

 

 

Sometime later, having thanked Hannah for a wonderful dinner the two ladies were back in the corridor walking the short distance to Root's apartment.

"So what was it really?" Sameen asked.

"What?"

"The pen. It's not a USB drive. I know you too well."

Root chuckled.

"It's a camera. The kid has talent, someone should help her develop it." Root replied.

"You are such a corrupting influence."

"I agree. I am a really bad girl and i should be punished. Do you want to punish me, Sameen?" Root asked with an evil grin on her face.

"As tempting as that sounds, sadly not tonight. Cole just informed me that a war has broken out in the desert region again. I need to be there. Well, I am already there but I have to give it my full attention."

"You're no fun."

"I'm sorry, I promise I'll punish you tomorrow."

Sameen leaned over and kissed Root and started to fade away.

"I'll hold you to it." said Root as Death smiled and faded away into the night.

 

 

***

 

 

It was the evening of the next day and Root was on her way back from her evening walk when she ran into Gen. The two detectives sat in their car watching her enter the lobby of her apartment with the little golden haired girl.

"Hi Gen, how was school?" Root asked as she met Gen.

"It was great and I figured out what the pen does. It's awesome. Thank you. I took a lot of pictures."

"Great. Just don't tell your mom or she'll be really mad at me."

"I won't. It will be out secret."

"Yes. So, what other news do you have for me. What else is happening in our building. Did Mr. Kohl feed anymore birds?"

"Well actually I think he might really be a spy." Gen whispered to Root.

"Really, what makes you say that?" Root humored her.

"Because there are cops outside our building. They've been there for two days."

"Are you sure?" Root asked, her tone suddenly serious. She knew that Gen wouldn't make up something like that.

"Absolutely. I even took a few pictures. They never even noticed me." Gen replied proudly.

"Can you show me where they are?" Root asked.

Root followed Gen to the glass doors of the lobby and Gen pointed out the detectives car.

"That one, the grey sedan." Gen said.

At that moment Root knew instinctively that the detectives weren't there for Mr. Kohl, they were there for her. She immediately got into the lift and made her way to her apartment.

 

 

The two detectives saw their perpetrator talking to that little girl and then watched them both get into the elevator.

"So, you're ready." Martine asked.

"Absolutely. Do you have the warrant?" Fusco asked.

Martine checked her jacket pockets and realized that she had forgotten to pick them up from her desk.

"Damn it. I'm so sorry."

"Nah, it's fine. I have done it before too. Don't worry I'll call Laskey and have him bring it to us. You call the captain and tell her send the SWAT team."

"Done."

The two detectives made their calls and waited for their backup to arrive.

 

 

Root rushed into her apartment and found Death waiting for her.

"Hey Sameen, I might have to take a rain check on that whole punishment thing. I think someone else also knows that I've been a bad girl." Root said.

"You know about the cops?" Sameen asked.

"Yeah, the little spy told me. I have a couple of shadows watching the detectives car."

"That's not all Root, you need to get out now." Sameen said when she realized that Root didn't understand the gravity of the situation.

"What do you mean now, are they coming for me right now?" Root asked.

"Yes."

"Well, that's fine. It's just two of them. I can handle that."

"No, it's not just the two of them. They called in a SWAT team. They'll be here in fifteen minutes."

Root stopped in her tracks and turned towards Sameen.

"Are you sure, how do you know?"

"Cole told me. He likes listening to all police and military channels. It helps him predict when major events are about to happen. But that's not important right now. Right now, you need to get out of here." Sameen replied, hoping the urgency in her voice would make Root move faster and it did.

Root immediately rushed into her bedroom and started to pack what ever she deemed was essential when she heard Death curse.

"Oh fuck. Root I think you need to hurry up more." Sameen said as she stepped into the bedroom.

"What happened?"

"It's not just the cops coming for you Root, I think there are others coming for you as well."

"Others, what others?" Root asked.

But even as she waited for the answer she knew that the storm that she had been anticipating was finally here.


	7. The Storm

"Root, you really need to get a move on things." Sameen said forcefully trying to impress the urgency of the situation upon her girlfriend.

Root in the meantime had stopped packing altogether.

"So, you're saying the gangs are on their way too. How did they find out? No wait, I think I know."

"Yeah, all gangs have some cop bought and paid for. It could be almost anyone. But that is hardly our concern at the moment. Right now you need to get out before they land here with a friggin army."

"What if I don't?" Root sat down on the bed and smiled.

"Root, no. You gave me your word."

"And I would have run if it were only the cops. But the gangs are well within their rights to take a shot at me after all I have taken enough shots at them and besides there are so many new things I want to try out." Root said as she looked at the book of enchantments that Cole had gifted her, "And I'm not alone, I do have backup."

"Root, that's an absolute no. You are not unleashing the shadow realm here. You have no idea what they are capable of. Just leave."

Root was quiet for a moment.

"Is this the end, Sameen. Is this where I die. Is that why you want me to leave?" Root asked.

"I don't know, Root. I can't see the future especially when it's this fluid and chaotic. I just want you to leave because that's the sane thing to do, but I forgot that that term doesn't exactly apply to you." Death said wryly.

Root just grinned at her lover.

"So, what do you have in mind?" Death asked.

"I was thinking of playing Die Hard but with some friends as backup. I want to open a portal. Let the shadows have some fun. They've been feeling left out for a while."

If Root could have seen Death's face behind the hood she would have seen the horrified look on it's face.

"Root, that's a bad idea. The shadows may not be evil per se but they have no sense of right or wrong. To them everything is there for them to play with. They will tear this place apart and everyone in it and once they are done here they will go through this city like locusts."

"How about if the portal is time bound and restricted to just this building, would that work?"

Death quirked an eyebrow.

"How long have you been planning this, Root?"

"I needed a plan in case things went south."

"And you can control the extent of their influence?"

"Yes and I can keep it time bound."

"How long?"

"Twenty minutes?"

Death took a deep breath.

"Fine. It's not like you're going to listen to me. What do you need me to do, except kill people because that is against the rules. Actually I am breaking enough rules as it is. I am going to have a tough time explaining this to my superiors."

"Sorry. I can run if you want me to. I don't want you to get into trouble because of me." Root sounded genuinely apologetic.

"Nah, it's fine. Not like I haven't been in trouble before." Death smiled back, "So what do you need from me?"

"Right now, just let me know how much time do I have?"

"You have another fourteen minutes before the gangs show up and another five or ten after that for the SWAT team to arrive."

"That's enough time for me to get this portal up and running. Could you be my lookout till then?"

"Sure."

At that moment, as if on cue, a shadow creature stepped out of the shadows.

"Hello", Root said, "would you and your friends like to play a game?"

The creature stepped forward and grinned.

"Wonderful."

 

 

Root communicated with the shadow creature mentally, explaining to it the best she could about what she had planned. It nodded and left.

Root turned around and faced Death.

"Alright, time to get to work." she said with a smile. “I just need to get this seal in place. Once I’m done and you see the gangs arrive, trigger the fire alarm.”

“OK.” replied Sameen, “and then what?”

“Then I’ll wait for the show to start and you should leave.”

“But...” Sameen started to speak.

“Sameen, what you do is far more important that this. I don’t want you to get into trouble because of me. So just go. If this is the end, at least I’ll still get to see you once it’s over. Otherwise I’ll see you later.” Root grinned.

Death just nodded her head and let Root do her thing. She seemed saddened by the thought that this just might be the end of their affair.

 

 

It took Root another ten minutes to get everything done. Sameen paced around the room nervously. Death wasn’t used to caring for someone this deeply, but it was what it was. It couldn’t deny the way it felt for the tall woman and hoped that this wasn’t the end for her.

At that moment Cole communicated with Sameen.

“Root, are you done?”

“Almost, why?”

“Because we just ran out of time. They are a minute away from here.”

Root drew something on a small porcelain sphere and touched it to the wall in front of her and stepped back as the wall rippled momentarily. The porcelain sphere was the key to closing the portal.  It was kinda like a remote off switch and the thing that locked the shadow world's influence to within the building. But it would only last for twenty minutes. That was the extent of Root's strength. After that not only would the shadow world start to spill outside the building but Root would have to be physically present at the portal to close it and she didn't want to be anywhere in the building after the shadows had been loose in it for any prolonged duration of time. So she carefully put the sphere in her pocket and checked it twice to make sure it was there.

“Now I’m done. Just in time, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Ok, go do your thing.” Root told Sameen.

Sameen stepped closer to Root and quickly kissed her.

“Best of luck.” and saying that Sameen disappeared.

 

* * *

 

 

At that moment Fusco and Martine were still sitting in their car waiting for backup to arrive when they noticed three very large SUVs pull up next to the building. A whole bunch of very nasty looking guys stepped out of the vehicles and made their way into the building. They could make out that almost everyone one of them was carrying a gun.

No sooner had they entered the building than the fire alarm started blaring.

 

* * *

 

Having finished locking in the spell Root stepped out into the corridor. All she had to do now was say a couple of words to open the doorway. Sameen was gone but the corridor was filled with people. The neighbours that she never even knew she had were all filling the corridor and making their way down the stairs. She spotted Hannah and Gen.

“Are you coming?” Hannah asked Root.

“In a moment. I’m just waiting for my computers to shut down. I’ll cover them with something so nothing happens to them incase there actually is a fire.”

“OK, you want me to wait?”

“Nah, you two go ahead. I’ll see you two outside.” Root replied with a smile.

Hannah nodded and she and Gen made their way down the stairs along with the rest of the crowd.

Root relaxed a little bit. She was glad that Hannah and Gen were out of the building. Now she was free to play.

 

* * *

 

Martine and Fusco watched in horror as over two dozen gang members entered the building and as if that wasn’t enough, all the residents of the building started pouring out onto the street. It was a scene of utter chaos and neither one of them knew what to do. The SWAT team was at least another ten-fifteen minutes away.

“What do you want to do, we can’t just sit around and watch this happen?” Fusco said.

“You want to go in there without backup, we won’t last a minute against those guys.” Martine simply stated the facts.

“I know but isn’t that our job. I mean god knows Samantha Groves is a monster but her fate for the courts to decide not us. Our job is just to bring her in.”

Martine sighed and smiled.

“So what are we waiting for? Let's go bring her in”

Fusco grinned and they both stepped out of the car and headed for the building.

 

* * *

 

The floor was quite empty by now and Root was just hanging around waiting for the party to start and it didn’t take long for it to get started. A few moments later she started to hear footsteps coming up the stairs and she chanted the words to open the door for the shadows. She knew it would take a few seconds. She hoped it wouldn’t be a few seconds too late.

Root’s apartment was in the middle of the corridor and there were staircases at either end. The first guys who showed up came from the left. There were eight of them with guns in their hands. They all looked a little nervous at first but when they spotted Root they grew more confident. They figured one woman would hardly pose a threat. It never crossed their mind as to why she hadn’t made a run for it.

The spotted Root and recognized her from the photo that their mole in the precinct had sent them. The guy in the front took out a picture from his pocket and stared at it. He then stepped forward and spoke out loud.

“Yo bitch.”

Root was casually leaning against the wall. She stood up and looked at him.

“That’s no way to talk to a lady.”

“Fuck you, cunt. Just be happy I’m not putting hole in you right here. The boss wants to do that himself.”

“If we’re going to be long, you think I could get some stuff packed for the trip.” Root said mischieviously.

And then Root moved.

She moved faster than the man could react. Before he could even blink Root was gone and all he saw was the door to her apartment slamming shut.

“What the fuck? Where did she go?”

“I think she’s in there.” said one of the other guys.

At that moment some of their other colleagues came up from the opposite staircase. The others were waiting on the lower floors as backup just incase the cops showed up. The guy in charge motioned everyone to move closer to Root’s apartment. They were being slightly cautious but what was to come next none of them had anticipated.

Suddenly the lights in the corridor went out. Their world turned to pitch black. Just as they were trying to get their eyes adjusted to the darkness the lights came back one but a lot dimmer than before as if something was eating up the light. The men stared at each other. Maybe the rumors they had heard were true. The woman was some kind of a witch. None of them believed in that sort of thing but they had heard too many stories and this sudden turn of events had gotten them slightly spooked.

Eddie, the man in charge, moved closer to the apartment door. He reached out to open it when he heard the wood groan as if there was something very heavy pressing on it from the other side.

“Oh, fuck this.”

Eddie cocked his gun and opened fire at the door. The rest of crew joined in. A few seconds later there was nothing left of the door but wooden strips and smoke but it strangely still remained standing.

Eddie motioned one of the guys to open the door.

The man nervously moved closer to the door. He leaned in and thought he could hear the ocean. As he stepped in front of the door he looked down and saw that he had actually stepped into a little puddle of water. Black Water. It looked like it was coming from inside the apartment. He figured maybe they had hit some water main. As his hand moved closer towards the door handle, the lights began to flickr. He finally gathered some strength and opened the door.

But there was nothing to see. It was pitch black in front of him. He leaned a little forward and in the faint light saw a reflection of himself. The reflection rippled. He realized that he was staring at a wall of black water. As if some invisible barrier was holding it in place. His curiosity got the better of him and he gently poked it. A ripple spread out from where his finger had touched. He turned around to look at the rest of the guys who were all staring at the wall with same mixture of fear and wonder. In that momentary distraction the man never noticed that the ripple had stopped after travelling some distance and instead that circle had began to sprout teeth.

Before anyone could react the large circle of teeth reached out and grabbed the man from the head and pulled him into the wall of water. The man never even had a chance to scream.

Everyone panicked and began to fire at the wall of black water. But the wall of water burst as the bullets touched it and flooded the corridor and took most of the guys with it. As everyone was starting to pick themselves up they noticed that the water was starting to take form. There were strange creatures rising out of the water.

A lot of strange creatures.

With lots of claws and lots of teeth.

By now the entire corridor was about a foot deep in water and it seemed like the black water was beginning to climb up the walls and starting to cover the entire corridor.

One of the guy who was struggling to stand up saw one of the other guys stand up and he got immediately sucked into the water and disappeared. A second later an arm floated up. The man screamed and tried to run but two arms came out of the walls and pulled him in. He was never seen again.  

Eddie was still trying to make sense of everything when a wall of water rose up from the floor and Root stepped out the water with a massive battle axe.

“Didn't your mother ever tell you it’s rude to call a woman, cunt.” Root said as she swung her axe.

The giant blade coming at him and Root’s grinning face were the last things he ever saw. The axe took Eddie’s head clean off. His brain was still trying to comprehend everything he was seeing as his head hit the floor. Root stepped back into the water and disappeared before Eddie’s headless body even touched the floor.

The rest of the men began to regroup against the horde of creatures rising out of the water with Root standing in their midst. Root could hear one of them shouting on the phone.

“Boss, this bitch is nuts and she’s got like a bunch of wild animals with her. No, no, no, Eddie’s dead. She fucking chopped his head off with an axe. Just... just send more guys right now.”

Root grinned and prepared herself to attack when she heard another voice behind her.

“Samantha Groves, you’re under arrest.”

It was  Det. Fusco's voice.

Root turned around and saw two detectives standing behind her with gun pointed at her. The shadow creatures turned around with her. The gangs took that moment of distraction and opened fire.

Root managed to throw up a shield but a second too late. Some of the bullets still managed to make their way through. She saw that the fat detective was unharmed but the female detective got shot in the side and she fell to the ground. Root felt a strange burning sensation and saw that she herself had been shot in the shoulder but the bullet had gone clean through. The prolonged exposure to the shadow realm had made her a lot stronger than before so she didn't feel the pain as much. Normally the wound would have healed by now but the complex spell to open the doorway had made her weaker so the healing process had slowed down and that would in turn make her weaker still. She knew was on a clock, she needed to get out of there before the time ran out on the key.

She made her way towards the detectives. Thankfully the shield was still holding but now there were a dozen or so shadow creatures with her and they were looking at the two detectives curiously and that wasn't a good thing. Root recognized that fact. She told them that the two detectives were off limits. They weren't happy about it but they had enough things to play with.

 

Fusco was kneeling next to Martine who was holding her waist. In the rush get upstairs she hadn't strapped the bullet proof vest on properly and it was slightly open in the sides and that's exactly where the bullet had entered and by the looks of it, it was still inside. They knew that she needed to get to a hospital soon, but at that moment they were too busy trying to believe what was happening in front of their eyes.

The corridor looked like it belonged in a fevered dream.

There were strange dark creatures everywhere. Most were oddly proportioned as if they weren't sure what they wanted to be. A large number of them were heading straight for the gang members but a few of them seemed to be fascinated with their surroundings and were busy trying to dismantle it. Two of them had already taken down an entire exterior wall of an apartment and had gone in to explore which essentially meant tearing everything apart and seeing what was inside it. To the horror of the detectives they were applying a similar approach to the humans. A few of the gang members had managed to escape but the rest of them were being torn to pieces.

In the midst of all this insanity Fusco had forgotten that Root was standing right next to him. Root could make out from the look on Fusco's face that he was deciding whether or not he should arrest her.

"I know what you're thinking but if you and partner hope to make out of here alive, you're going to need me." Root said.

"Fine, but don't think you're getting away with this, cuckoo clock. I will find you once all of this is over." Fusco made his position very clear.

"Cuckoo clock, I like that" said Root with a grin, "Tell you what, we get out of here alive. I'll personally hand myself over to you two."

Fusco nodded and they both picked up Martine and made their way downstairs. Root looked back and wondered if all of this had been a good idea. By the looks of it the shadows were not only going to go through the gang members but it would be a miracle if they even left the building standing.

 

As they made their way down they didn’t face a lot of resistance. Most of the gang members were also trying to figure out a way to get out of the building. Every now and then Fusco would hear a distant scream. After the first couple of times, he stopped caring. He had no idea what this woman was but at that moment he just wanted to get out and get his partner to the hospital. He would try to make sense of it all once he was safe back home with his family.

The had gotten down to the fourth floor when they heard footsteps coming up. They all backed away into the corridor towards the fire escape and waited with theirs guns at the ready. Root cloaked them in shadows and leaned on her battle axe. She also mentally called in a few of the shadows as backup.

They only had to wait a few tense seconds before Fusco spotted them. It was the SWAT team. There were ten officers armed with the usual SWAT gear. Fusco stepped out of the shadows relieved to finally have some backup. But his relief was short lived. The moment he got closer he realised that their uniforms were all wrong and so were the guns. He immediately aimed his gun at the guy in lead and the entire SWAT team did the same in return.

They backed away from the SWAT team, towards the fire escape but they knew they were trapped. There was nowhere to run to.

"What gave us away?" One of the SWAT team guys asked. It looked like he was in charge.

"Everything." Fusco replied.

The man laughed.

"I knew these uniforms weren't good enough. I was just hoping that we could get away with it in the middle of all the chaos."

"Well, no such luck."

The man sighed.

"Look, just hand her over and we'll be gone. No one has to die here." Said the guy who had the gun pointed to his head.

"You really expect me to believe that you're going let the two of us go after we've seen your faces." Fusco replied.

The man grinned.

"You're right about that."

"Well, we're at least taking two of you with us." Fusco cocked his gun just as Martine pointed her gun at another one of the SWAT team guys.

In the background, Root picked up the battle axe.

The man in the front knew the detectives meant business, he decided to reason with them one more time.

"Detectives, it's ten of us against the two of you so why don't you do the smart thing and hand her over and I promise I'll make it quick."

Root stepped forward and smiled.

"No one said there were only three of us."

The SWAT team noticed that the floor was beginning to fill with black water and there were things moving in the water even though it couldn't be more than a few millimetres deep. But then they noticed that there were things moving in the shadows all around them.

Root snapped her fingers and the world turned to darkness.

 

For a few moments Fusco and Martine were lost in the darkness. The could see the occasional muzzle flash and Martine caught the sight of Root going at someone with that massive battle axe of hers. But then a dull blue light shone over them as Root approached them.

"Stay close to me, unless you would like to join the games." said Root.

Fusco and Martine had no intentions of joining said games.

They moved sideways through a hole in a wall and found themselves in an apartment. All around them were creatures both big and small tearing the place apart. Martine couldn't quite make out the location of the blue light but it followed them wherever they went. Suddenly a man from the fake SWAT team was thrown in through a wall. He was bloody and his arm seemed to have been twisted in the wrong direction.

"Help me" he pleaded.

Those were the only words the man could say before a giant arm pulled him back out.

Fusco and Martine stared at the man in horror while Root just chuckled and kept on walking. The two detectives followed her. They managed to get out of the apartment and found themselves at the other end of the corridor. Root looked at her watch and saw that she had barely eight minutes left on the timer that she had set and they were still on the fourth floor. They needed to get a move on things.

"We need to hurry." Root said to the two detectives.

"Why?" asked Fusco.

"Why not."

"Fair enough" Fusco couldn't find fault with the logic.

So they decided to run as fast they could with Martine between them. They managed to get through the next two floors without any issues. They were on the first floor when they heard some gunfire and screaming coming from the other end of the corridor. They made the mistake of taking a peek to see what was going on and it turned out to be a bigger mistake than any of them had expected.

At the far end of the corridor a couple of gang members and three members of the fake SWAT team were in a fight with the shadow creatures. They were firing indiscriminately in every direction, not that it made any difference to the shadows. Everytime the bullets tore through them they were ripped to pieces but a few moments later they reassembled into a newer form. It didn't look like the men were going to last too long till out of nowhere one of the guys picked up a grenade launcher and fired it. It just happened to be in their direction.

Root barely had a second to react. She put a shield but it wasn't strong enough. The wounds that Root had received and the physical and magical exertion of the past twenty minutes had really drained her. She still managed to block a majority of the blast but they were all thrown back with tremendous force and Root blacked out.

 

When Root came to she saw a small shadow creature staring at her curiously. It grinned at her as she got up and tried to regain her balance. The first thing she did once she was back on her feet was to  check her watch. She was thankful that she hadn't been out for more that a few seconds and that she still had about five minutes left. She was bruised from the impact against the wall and her shoulder was still bleeding. She noticed that small piece of metal sticking out of her side. She was surprised that she wasn't feeling the pain. She figured maybe she was in shock. Either ways it didn't matter. She didn't have time for it. She pulled out the metal shard and used whatever little strength she had left to heal the wound a little bit so it wound bleed as much. She felt weak. Root suddenly wasn't sure if she might make it out the building alive. She shook off the feeling and began to look around for the detectives through the smoke of the grenade blast.

She saw that they had both fallen down a flight of stairs and were unconscious. She quickly checked up on them to make sure that they were both alive and they were. She figured she had done enough. The real backup for the cops would arrive soon and she could close the portal and get out. She put her hand into her pocket and to her horror noticed that the porcelain orb wasn't there.

Root panicked. She began to look for it everywhere but it was nowhere to be found. After a few seconds of frantic searching she calmed herself and thought about it rationally. She knew that she could have dropped it anywhere between here and her house and all she needed was a simple location spell. The book that Cole had given her had all manners of useful spells and she still had enough strength left to cast maybe a spell or two. She did what was required and a small green dot of light appeared in front of her to lead her. She felt like she was in one of her video games. The dot hovered in space for a second and then sped off. Root decided to leave her battle axe on the floor, it was getting too heavy for her to carry, and she ran after green dot.

All around her the building was falling apart. The shadows were dismantling the whole structure. Some of it they were taking back to their own realm and the rest they were just playing around with. That also included the gang members. Root felt slightly sorry for them but not too much. After all they were there to kill her.

Root followed the green light for almost two floors before it stopped on the fourth floor over a piece of rubble near the fire escape. The exact location where they had encountered the fake SWAT team. Root slowed down and leaned against one of the few pieces of walls still left standing, trying to catch her breath. She had lost a lot of blood and the spells had drained out the rest of her strength. She slowly walked up to where the dot was hovering, moved the debris and saw the small porcelain orb underneath it. She smiled and picked it up.

She knew she barely had a few seconds left. She rubbed some of her blood on it and unravelled the spell. She immediately felt a massive inrush of air as all the shadow creatures began to get sucked back into the portal. It didn't take long for it to end. The darkness started to bleed off the walls and was eventually replaced by the illumination of the street lights coming in through the windows and the numerous holes in the building exterior. All around her the building was creaking and groaning. She didn't know how long it would remain standing.

It was night outside and Root could hear sirens in the background. She figured her little stunt had probably attracted the attention of the city's entire police force by now and that she had a few minutes before the cavalry showed up. Maybe that was enough time for her to disappear but then she remembered her promise to the fat detective and she decided she should keep it. After all she had had enough fun to last her a lifetime.

 

 

She turned around to head downstairs when she saw someone standing in her path. It looked liked someone from the fake SWAT team. He wasn't in good shape. He was bleeding profusely from deep gashes all over his body. His left leg was limp as was his left arm. It was a miracle he was even standing. He had however managed to drag a duffel bag with him. He leaned against the wall to catch a few final breaths.

"I'd love to see you survive this, bitch." saying that he dropped the duffel bag and Root saw that it was full of grenades with no pins.

The man grinned and collapsed on the floor.

Root stared in horror and put up a shield with whatever little strength she had left. She was hoping that the shield might be enough to protect her from a majority of the explosion. A half a second later the grenades exploded. The blast tore through the entire floor and eventually hit the gas mains which also ignited. The resulting explosion shook the entire building. Fire started to spread throughout the apartment complex.

A fraction of a second later Root got hit by the blast. She was correct that the shield would protect her from the fire but the impact of the explosion threw her out of the fire escape. She fell four floors, hit her head on the metal staircase, bounced off the lid of a dumpster and landed on the ground in the alleyway behind her apartment building.

The shield had managed to protect her a little bit but she was sure had at least a few broken ribs if not more. There was no way she was going to get too far. She tried to stand up but she could barely focus or maintain her balance. The whole world was spinning. She spat out some blood. She took a few steps and then collapsed again.  She tried crawling but her body refused to cooperate.

As she was losing consciousness she saw a black car pull up stop near her. A bald bespectacled man with a beard stepped out and walked up to her. He sat down on the pavement next to her and smiled. He had a kind smile. Root smiled back, her teeth soaked in blood and then she fainted.

 

"Put her in the back seat and let's get out of here before the cops show up. We don't have too much time." The bald man instructed his associates.

They followed his orders  and put Root in the back seat and just before the police arrived on the scene the black sedan vanished into the night.

 

 


	8. The Hunt

Root opened her eyes with some effort. She felt like a fairy tale princess who has been asleep for ages. Her body was stiff from inactivity. Her brain felt like it was still in the process of booting up. She had had strange dreams. Dreams of playing with the shadows, where she no longer had her human form and she was one of them. But the more she thought about it the less strange it felt. It felt like that was where she belonged now and not here in the hard and unconnected world. She wondered where Sameen was, but she decided she could talk to her later. Right now she needed to figure out where she was.

She lay there on that tiny bed and stared at the metal ceiling. Her brain was finally online enough to wonder why the ceiling was made of metal and not cement like a normal room. She finally willed herself to sit up and looked around. To her surprise she saw that she was in some kind of a subway car. It was lit up with warm low intensity halogen bulbs hanging from the roof. The seating in the subway car had been ripped out to make room for some furniture. There was a computer at the far end and a small table with some leftovers on it. She was using the only bed available. There were a few shelves with some books in them but they were too far away for her to make out the titles.

She stood up but she suddenly felt really light-headed. The world began to spin and she immediately sat back down on the bed. She took a few deep breaths and tried again, this time the world remained steady and so did she. She hadn't expected her little stunt with the shadows to weaken her so much. She made a mental note of that, of how much she could push herself. She steadied herself and once she felt confident she walked slowly towards the exit.

 

Root stepped out and saw that she was in an old abandoned subway station. It looked like it had been recently refurbished by someone with good taste. The place was well lit and had a few painting hanging from the brick walls. There were a few chairs and sofas scattered around. The place looked lived in.

She heard a noise to her right, she turned her head and saw a man sitting on a sofa near the far right wall. He didn't seem too alarmed by her presence but then he also had a small machine gun resting on lap. He looked at her and pointed to her left. She turned her head in the opposite direction and saw a bald bearded man sitting at the far end of the room in what seemed like a makeshift study. His face looked familiar like someone she'd seen in a vaguely remembered dream.

The study comprised of a large wooden desk with a lot of books and maps strewn across it. There was a tall lamp on the ground which lit up the entire place. The man sat on a leather high back chair reading a book. There was another one opposite him, which at the moment was empty. He seemed engrossed but as Root walked up to him he put down the book and looked at her and smiled.

"Ms. Groves, it's good to see you awake. I was wondering when and if that would happen." said the man as he stood up.

"How long...?" Root started her question.

"Three days." the man replied.

"Three days..." Root hadn't expected that answer and as if upon hearing the answer her legs decided that they still weren't fully up to the task of standing, let alone walking and they suddenly lost strength.

Root would have surely fallen to the floor if the man hadn't moved fast enough to catch her. He held her by the waist and slowly sat her down on the leather chair. He also told the man at the far end to get her something to eat.

"Just relax, you shouldn't be exerting yourself. Frankly Ms. Groves, after that fall I'm amazed that you're even alive let alone walking."

Root made herself comfortable in the high back chair and relaxed.

"Call me Root, I prefer that."

"And you can call me Elias." said the bespectacled man.

“Carl Elias, the mobster?” Root sounded a little surprised.

“One and the same”

“I thought you skipped town.”

“Not really, just went underground, literally.” Elias replied with a smile.

"So you've been here all this time, in this abandoned subway station." Root looked around admiring the old architecture, "How did you find this place?" she asked.

"My friend told me about it. He's really into the city's history and architecture. There are actually a whole bunch of these places that no one really remembers. Subway stations and even abandoned tunnels. They are quite useful for travelling across the city unnoticed." Elias explained.

At that moment, Elias's henchman got Root a hot meal and something to drink which she accepted hungrily.

In the middle of her wolfing down her meal she paused and asked, "I don't mean to sound ungrateful or anything and just to be clear I am grateful, but why did you save me and more importantly how did you know where to find me?"

"The fact of the matter is that even I'm not sure why I did it,  maybe I was just curious. As to how I found you, well, that little display of yours attracted a lot of attention and a friend of mine regularly monitors all police frequencies. He informed me about you."

"Another friend or the same one as before?"

"The same." Elias replied with a grin.

"This friend of yours seems pretty resourceful."

"He is. He's my eyes and ears in the city. We've been together for a very long time. Almost since the time I started my little enterprise."

"Would love to meet him someday." Root said.

"Why wait, he'll be here in sometime. You can meet him then." Elias replied.

 

***

 

About the same time as Root was finishing her meal, Fusco was walking into Martine's room in the hospital. She had been getting restless, wanting to get out of the hospital and back into the field. It was a miracle the doctors had managed to keep her in there for this long and also the fact that for the first couple of days she could barely move.

"When am I getting out?" Martine asked Fusco as he walked in.

"And hello to you too, blondey" Fusco grinned.

"You didn't answer the question."

"I don't know Martine, do I look like a doctor to you. I guess you should be out of here in a couple more days."

Martine sighed.

"I should be out there looking for that crazy bitch. We should be out there."

"Well, we can't. We're both on medical leave and besides they aren't sure if she's even alive."

"What, they think she died in the explosion? Did they identify her remains as yet?"

"Identify? They haven't identified squat," Fusco said, "That place is like a demented jigsaw puzzle made of body parts. They found one guy spread across five floors and they still haven't found his jaw. So if she's in there it could be some time before they identify her. But they still have a city wide search going on. If she's out there we'll find her."

"That's all well and good but what do you think. You think she's dead?"

Fusco moved in closer so as to make sure no one overheard them.

"Look, I'm still having a hard time believing everything we saw in there. I put in my report that she had dogs, but we both know that what we saw definitely weren't dogs or any other kind of animal that we've ever seen. Did she die, no fucking clue. But she did stop a hail of bullets mid air, if she could do that, I guess she could have survived the explosion as well."

Martine nodded in agreement.

"Exactly, only we know what she's capable of that why we need to be out there looking for her."

"I know, but that might have to wait. First thing when we get back we'll have to talk that moron from Internal Affairs."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Who have they sent over?"

"Pretty boy Lambert. He's been going through everything with a fine tooth comb. But that was expected after what happened. Someone must have leaked the information to the gangs. Maybe the I.A. investigation wouldn't be such a bad thing."

"I guess not." Martine agreed with a look of disdain on her face.

"Look, I'm going to talk to the doctor and see if you can get out of here by tomorrow. I will come and pick you up. Then we'll see what needs to done next."

Just as Fusco was about to leave Martine tried to get up and move slightly closer to him. Fusco leaned in so she wouldn't strain herself.

"Hey, don't tell anyone but I can't seem to sleep with the lights off any more. I keep expecting those things to jump out of the shadows." Martine said softly, looking slightly embarrassed by the confession.

Fusco smiled and replied, "Neither can I."

 

***

 

In the meantime Root had finished her meal in that abandoned subway station and was busy chatting with Elias.

"I must admit I was worried about talking to you."

"Why?"

"Because I can't figure out what you are. No one should have survived that explosion or that fall, yet here we are talking to each other. I also had no idea how crazy you would be. I mean, let me be clear, I know for a fact that you're insane, that much I can see in your eyes. And given the fact no one hired you to kill any of those people including Dominic, I know because I checked ,the only explanation left is that you did it because your enjoyed it. Am I right?"

"If I was to confess then ... yes. Even though there was another reason but I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it a little bit."

"Yeah, so you can imagine my apprehension in talking to you, Root. The main worry was whether you were sane enough to be reasoned with."

"And now that we've talked, what's your verdict?"

"I think you're sane enough, I just wouldn't want to be on your wrong side."

Root was about to say something when she heard some footsteps coming from the subway tunnel. She turned around and saw two men walking in through the dark. One of them was fairly tall and the other one was shorter with a slight limp. They were both dressed in business suits and looked like they could have belonged in some investment firm.

As they climbed on to the platform Elias got up to greet them Root followed suit.

"Harold, you're late. I was expecting you fifteen minutes ago." Elias complained jokingly.

"The leg's been acting up again. It doesn't like the cold." Harold replied.

"You need any more of that ointment from Chinatown. I could have someone drop it off."

"No need at the moment. But I can always tell Mr. Reese to pick some up for me in case I run out."

The tall man simply smiled at the mention of his name.

"Did you have any problems getting here." Elias enquired.

"A little more than usual, but not a lot. Thankfully because of Ms. Groves's little display, no one seems to be looking for you at the moment." Harold smiled.

Root chuckled in the background. Harold heard the chuckle and stepped forward.

"I don't think we've properly introduced. My name is Harold Finch and this is my associate Mr. Reese." said Harold with his hand out stretched.

"Root" came the prompt reply as she shook his hand.

"It's an honour making your acquaintance Ms. Root. That was quite an impressive fireworks display you put up the other day." Harold sounded genuinely impressed.

"You saw that."

"We both did" replied Harold as he pointed towards John Rees, "Once the warrant for your arrest went out to all units we decided to drop by as well. I have been following your exploits for some time now, as best as I could, so to actually see in you action was an opportunity that I wasn't going to pass up and I must say, Ms. Root you did not disappoint."

Elias laughed.

"As you can see, Harold's a bit of a fan."

Root stood there smiling but she looked like she was lost in thought.

"Wait, Harold Finch? Are you the one who runs that crime blog, The All Seeing Eye."

Harold seemed taken aback.

"Yes."

"Wow, I love that blog. That's how I learnt about the criminal underworld of the city."

"Well, glad I could help, Ms. Root"

"Yeah and it's just Root, no Ms."

"My apologies.... Root"

"Well this is a small world after all." Elias said.

"So is that how you've been keeping a track of everything that's been going on in the city. Through the blog?" Root asked.

"Yes, it was a straightforward and simple way of gathering intel on our enemies and also passing on information to the cops without raising suspicion and no one would ever suspect Harold. To the average reader Harold was nothing more than a library owner and a blogger who had an interest in the city's criminal elements. Nothing illegal about that, right?" Elias explained, "Actually it was all Harold's idea. A great way of hiding in plain sight. He is my entire intelligence network."

Harold smiled the smile of a man who was proud of his work.

"And now thanks to you Root we almost have the city back. With the damage you've cause over the past year and that little display of yours in your building, you pretty much destroyed more half the army of both The Brotherhood and the Russians. It's going to be very hard for them to come back from that." Harold continued.

"Well, That's all well and good but I really didn't do it for you." Root replied, "but since you both are so grateful for it mind telling me what plans do you have for me."

Elias and Harold looked at each other as if deciding who should talk. Harold decided that he should.

"Well, you can't go out, there are cops swarming all over the city looking for you but you also can't stay here, this place really isn't meant for ladies. So we decided that you can come and stay with me. I have a small library with a room on top. Mr. Reese used to stay there but he's since moved out to a slightly bigger apartment. You can stay there till you figure out your next move. Would that be acceptable, Root?" Harold asked.

"Sounds perfect, when do we leave." Root replied and smiled.

"Soon. I just need to discuss some issues with my partner and then we can be on our way. I also bought you a change of clothes."

Root looked down and noticed her blood stained shirt and now that Harold had mentioned it she realized that she should probably change. There was no point in making them think that she any more crazier than they already thought she was.

 

They hung around for a while as Harold talked some things over with Elias. Root had changed into her new clothes and was standing next to Reese who stood there like a Royal guard at the buckingham palace. Unmoving and silent.

"You don't talk a lot, do you." said Root.

"No." came the monosyllabic reply.

"Well you must a hoot at parties."

"So I've been told." Reese replied with a slight hint of a grin on his face.

Root decided that she liked this big lug of a human being.

Sometime later Harold finished his discussion with Elias and after their goodbyes Root, Harold and Reese made their way back into the tunnels.

 

***

 

They must have walked for at least an hour. Root tried to memorize the route they took but after a while all the tunnels began to look the same. Not that it mattered, she could always ask the shadows for directions later. Occasionally she would hear the sound of the train at a distance or the sound of people waiting on some underground platform. A little while later they turned into what looked like a smaller service tunnel. It was dimly lit and slowly faded into darkness. It seemed like a dead end but as they approached the far end of the tunnel Reese stepped forward and moved a false wall to reveal a hidden tunnel. Harold took out his keychain and pressed a small button and a light switched on at the end of the tunnel and Root saw a small ladder leading upwards. Root could see it even before the light was turned on but the light still helped. She was feeling as she was in a war film trying to escape the Nazis except in their case they weren't the good guys.

They all climbed the ladder one after the other with Reese coming up at the end. As Root climbed up she saw a small trap door towards the top with light streaming in and Harold waiting at the top. Root climbed out of the hole in the floor and saw that she was in a basement. After they were all out if the tunnel, Reese closed the hatch and shut off the tunnel light with the remote and they all made their way out of the basement into Harold's library.

"So this is it. The Library." said Harold.

They were standing close to the back of the library near the entrance to a small kitchen which led to the basement. Root could see the front entrance through the book shelves. She stepped into the library and started to browse through the various books.

"It's not a big library but I do have a good collection. Most of the front shelves are the usual popular fare" said Harold as he followed Root, "but these one near the back are the more esoteric stuff. Occult, demonology, alternate dimensions, stuff like that. Don't get a lot of readers for things like that but I just collect them for me. Are you interested in stuff like that, given your umm.... extra curricular activities." Harold asked politely.

Root looked at him and smiled.

"A little" she replied.

"Then you'll love this section or at least you won't get bored."

Root nodded.

"So what now." She asked.

Harold looked at John who stepped forward.

"John here will show you to your room. I took the liberty of buying you some clothes. If you need other stuff then let John know and he'll get them for you. The library is all yours, just don't go out into the front. We wouldn't want anyone catching a glimpse of you, now would we?" Harold said, "otherwise you are free to do whatever you want."

"So basically stay here and not go out."

"Pretty much, at least until you figure out what you want to do next. I mean if you wish to get out of the country then even that can be arranged."

"And what if I wish to surrender."

Harold seemed taken aback for a second.

"If that is what you wish. The only request on my part would be to not talk about me or Mr. Elias."

"You don't need to worry about that Harold. Your secret's safe with me. Besides I'm supposed to be a murderous lunatic remember, who's going to believe me if I tell them that a mob boss is hiding in a subway station and is being helped by a librarian," Root grinned, " but any ways I haven't decided what I want to do so maybe I'll just lay low here for a while till I figure it out."

"Sounds like a good plan."

 

***

 

It had been five days since the incident. Martine was finally out of the hospital and even though she was still on medical leave she was back at the precinct with Fusco, even though at the moment she was using a cane to walk. They had been called in for the internal affairs investigation.

Martine had just stepped out from the interrogation room and was standing near her desk while Fusco waited to be called in.

"You should sit down" Fusco said.

"I would but it hurts when I bend down. I'll just stand for a bit," Martine explained, "Did you manage to dig up any news? You said you were going to talk to Laskey."

"I did, a little bit. He says Samantha Groves is still missing. No trace of her as yet."

"But are we sure she's still alive."

"Yeah, that part finally got confirmed. They found some blood and fingerprints in the alley behind the building. They matched it to her record. But here's the interesting bit, they were also found tire tracks."

"She has an accomplice?" Martine sounded surprised.

"Looks like it."

"Strange, I always thought she was more the loner type. Didn't think she would have a partner."

"Neither did I. Laskey also said that the captain has another team looking into Samantha Groves's friends and relatives. They are hoping she might have been in contact with any of them."

"You think that's likely."

"I don't know, but it's worth a shot. I mean if she has an accomplice then anything is possible."

At that moment a man stepped out of the interrogation room.

"Detective Fusco we are ready for you."

Fusco looked at him and nodded.

"See you a while."

"Best of luck."

Fusco smiled and stepped into the interrogation room.

 

***

 

The I.A. investigation continued while the detectives kept trying to see if any of Root's friends had been in touch with her. But Martine had been correct, the other team of detectives was starting to find out that Samantha Groves was a fairly solitary creature and had mostly kept to herself. In the meantime everyone was worried who was the mole in their midst.

"Yeah, so that was another dead end." said Detective Warren to his partner.

"Looks like it. I think we should talk to Fusco when we see him in the evening at the pub, maybe he'll have some leads." Detective Renwick suggested.

At that moment they spotted one of their colleagues heading out.

"Anna, what's the rush?" asked Renwick.

"Drayton just called, homicide in the upper east side. He was out for some work in that area so he's already on his way there. I need to catch up with him and I don't have my car today. Now I'm going to have to requisition a car from the carpool and that's always a pain." replied Detective Anna Luis.

"We can give you a lift." came a voice from behind. It was Detective Adrian Warren. Warren liked Detective Anna Luis and had been trying to summon up the courage to ask her out. He figured this was a nice way to spend some time with her and get to know her a little bit. Renwick knew this so he just smiled and agreed.

"Sure, we could leave you, not that we've got anything better to do at the moment. Besides we were in the upper east side area a couple of days back following up a lead."

"Thanks guys, really appreciate it."

 

***

 

Adrian spent most of the journey talking to Anna and he finally managed to find out that she was indeed single.

"You doing anything special Friday night?" asked Adrian.

"Not really. I just moved here a month back so I'm still getting to know the place."

"Well, me, Renwick and few others from the precinct go for bowling once a month. If you want you could drop by." Adrian suggested.

Renwick, who was driving the car, just smiled as his partner extended the invitation thinking he was being very smooth as if the female detective wouldn't be able to figure him out.

"Sure." Anna smiled and accepted the invite.

"Great, I'll forward the address to you on Whatsapp."

As the two detectives exchanged phone numbers, Renwick saw that they were getting close to their destination and still had no idea where exactly they were supposed to be going.

"Hey, if you two are done managing your social lives, you might want to let me know where exactly we are supposed to be going."

"Oh yeah, just.. just give me a second. I'll call Drayton and find out."

As Anna made the call Renwick slowed the car down so that he wouldn't have to double back.

"Okay I got it. It's 453, Kings Road."

Renwick just slammed the brakes.

"What" Adrian shouted.

Anna was stunned by the reaction of the two detectives but knew something was really wrong.

"What's wrong." she asked.

"Just check and make sure, Warren."

Warren pulled up a list of names on his phone and scrolled through it.

"Yup, Joel Mintz, 453, Kings Road. Is that the victim, Ann?" Adrian asked.

Detective Luis called her partner once again to confirm.

"Joel Mintz and family, Drayton says it looks like a burglary gone wrong but he thinks there might be more to it."

Renwick put the car in drive and accelerated towards their destination. They reached the address in a few minutes and made their way in past the forensics team.

The bodies were still lying where they had been found. It looked like the wife and the child had been shot in head. Upon closer inspection they could see that Mr. Mintz had been tortured.

"What's going on guys, mind filling us in?" Detective Drayton asked.

Adrian took a deep breath and leaned against the wall, he decided to let Renwick explain. He was after all the senior detective.

"He was one of our leads in the Samantha Groves case. We spoke with him just three days ago."

"Oh fuck." said Anna.

"Exactly" Adrian concurred.

At that moment Renwick suddenly turned around and looked at his partner. His eyes wide with horror.

"Check up on the rest, now."

Adrian immediately pulled out his phone and began dialling. Their list wasn't very long, it had only three names on it, but it was also incomplete. They were still trying to track down other friends that Samantha Groves might have had.

"You think that crazy bitch might have done this." Drayton asked.

"I have no idea, we just got assigned this case, since Martine and Fusco are still on medical leave, but it's possible."

As they were having this conversation Adrian gave a number to Anna so she could call the other number while he tried the first one. But even after three to four tries they were getting no response from either of the remaining two names on the list.

"Nothing." said Adrian.

"Call it in. Tell dispatch to send a patrol car to both addresses and check them out." Renwick instructed.

This couldn't be a coincidence. Something was very wrong, Renwick realized. As they waited Adrian started to go through his notes.

"This can't be happening. You think..." Adrian never finished the sentence but Renwick knew exactly what he wanted to say. Renwick was quite sure that the other two people on their list might have met a similar fate. After the longest twenty minutes of their lives the call came in on Renwick's phone.

"What did they say?" Adrian asked apprehensively.

"Signs of struggle at one house and no one's seen our second lead since yesterday. The house is empty and she's not at her workplace either. The patrol cars are still trying to track down both our leads."

"This is insane. How the fuck can this happen?" Adrian almost shouted.

The truth was that they all knew the answer to the question it was just that no one was willing to say it out loud. After this latest disaster they knew for a fact that there was rat in their midst and it could be any one of them.

"How do you think it happened? You think someone hacked into our system?" Drayton asked.

"Oh fuck." Adrian exclaimed.

"What?" said Anna.

"If they are in our system we got an even bigger problem."

"Oh man, it's that new lead we got today morning. One of Samantha Groves's neighbour and if what you say is true and the mole has hacked our computers then she could be next. I mean whoever it is must know by now that we've found Mr. Mintz then they won't waste time going after her. We need to get to her before anyone else does." Renwick said.

"What can we do to help?" Detective Luis asked.

Renwick and Adrian looked at each other. They had no idea if they could trust the other two detective, frankly at that point of time they weren't even sure if they trusted each other. But right now they didn't have much of a choice since they didn't know Hannah Frey's exact location.

"OK look, we've got three addresses for her. You can take one and we'll take the other."

"What about the third" asked Drayton.

Renwick thought about it for second and replied, "I'll call Martine. She and Fusco were supposed to be in the office today for some work. They've actually seen Ms. Frey."

"Sounds good to me." replied Drayton.

Renwick called Martine and told her everything that had happened. They all agreed not to tell anyone else. If something were to happen then at least they would know who the prime suspects would be, they themselves. But they had no choice at the moment so they all went with it.

The two teams of detectives got in their respective cars and raced off towards their destinations as Martine and Fusco made their way to the third location.

 

***

 

_Location A_

"We need backup, I repeat, we need backup. We're taking heavy gunfire." Detective Anna Luis shouted in the radio while her partner tried to get closer to the house.

They had reached there just a few moments back just as a black SUV came in from the other direction. Three African american men got out of the car and immediately opened fire on them. They somehow managed to get out the car and were currently hiding behind it and returning fire. They were trying their level best to prevent the men from entering the building.

**

_Location B_

Renwick and Adrian had reached their destination to find it empty. It was an apartment on the third floor. The neighbours told them that the residents were out of town on vacation. But as they were coming down the stairs they saw a group of heavily armed men making their way up. From their tattoos they looked Russian.

Both parties saw each other. The Russians caught a glimpse of the detectives badges on their belts opened fire with almost no warning. Adrian was hit on the forehead with a wood splinter from the staircase railing. Renwick returned fire. They proved to be lucky as the Russians didn't seem to be in the mood for a fight or maybe they saw that the detectives were empty handed. After a few minutes of firing they slowly retreated.

By the time Adrian and Renwick had gotten outside the building, the Russians were gone.

Adrian looked a mess, with blood pouring out from the gash on his eyebrow.

"Let's get you to the hospital." Renwick said.

"Just check up on the others first."

**

_Location C_

It was Fusco and Martine who turned out to be lucky or the maybe the fates decided that they had been through enough and gave them a reprieve.

They found the house and found Hannah and her little daughter. It was one of her friends place. It was a small apartment building in the west of the city. They were staying there till they found their own place to stay. The explosion and the subsequent fire had made their building structurally unsafe. She was just glad that the insurance company had agreed to pay them for all the damage that had been incurred.

Martine spoke with her and told her that they needed to come down to the precinct to give a statement regarding the events of that night and that she should bring along her daughter too. Martine didn't want to panic her. There would be enough time for that later.

They got the mother and daughter in the car and had barely driven fifty meters when Fusco saw a couple of vehicles pull up near the house. He could see heavily armed men get out and run into the building. Fusco stared at Martine and heaved a sigh of relief, since neither of them were in any mood or condition to take on a small army.

Martine called the other two pair of detectives and told them they had found Hannah Frey and she could still hear gunshots in the background when she spoke to Anna. But Anna informed her that backup was on it's way.

"What's going on with them?" Fusco asked since

"Nothing they can't handle. Let's just get to the precinct, we can worry about the rest later."

Even though they had managed to escape their own possible gun battle narrowly they knew they would be facing a wholly different shit storm once they reached the police station and they were right about that.

 

***

 

"What the fuck just happened?" Captain Moreno shouted.

Fusco and Martine were in the Captain's office along with Renwick, Anna and Drayton. Adrian was in the hospital getting stitches. It had been an hour since they had reached the police station. It had been complete chaos with four of their detectives coming under fire at almost the same time even though thankfully no one had been seriously injured. But it was still unacceptable. The gangs had either gotten really bold or they were desperate to get their hands on Samantha Groves or both.

Fusco had put Hannah and her daughter in the interrogation room and put Laskey outside as a guard. After the events of the day he wasn't sure if someone might actually try to do something right inside the precinct.

"We don't know exactly?" Renwick replied, "I mean, we are sure that there is someone here leaking information to the gangs. At least we can rule out the assumption that Samantha Groves had anything to do with this."

"Wow, what a relief. Thank god we don't have to worry about the serial killer murdering people" Captain Moreno said sarcastically.

Everyone else just stared at their feet.

"Are you sure about your other two leads?" asked the Captain.

"Not really. I've got two patrol cars still looking but so far we've got nothing."

"This is a god-damned clusterfuck. We've got one dead, two missing and or possibly dead. We've got a fourth lead sitting in the interrogation room and she was just lucky that you two got there in time. I've got the IA breathing down my neck and you can bet your ass the devil himself is going to be here within the hour. It will be a miracle if any of us have our jobs before the end of the week. So effective immediately,Detective Renwick, you and Adrian are suspended until further notice pending a full investigation."

"But..." Renwick said half-heartedly. He didn't protest too much since he had more or less anticipated it. It had been their investigation after all and even if someone had stolen the information from their computers they were still responsible, in part, for what had happened today.

"Don't but me, Renwick. Look I know you're a good man. But right now I don't have a choice. So your gun and your badge."

Renwick stepped forward and put both the items on the table and stepped out of the office.

"You two can leave too." Captain Moreno motioned towards Anna and Drayton.

*

After the two of them had left the office, the Captain leaned in to speak with Martine and Fusco, as if she wasn't sure who else might be listening in.

"What do you two intend to do with Ms. Frey?"

"Right now the only option is to put her and her daughter in a safe house."

"Do you two have a place because I don't think it's a good idea to put her in one of our safe houses since we have no idea how compromised we are."

Before either of them could answer, the devil, just as the captain had predicted, walked into Captain Moreno's office.

It was Senior Inspector John Greer, Head of Internal Affairs. The man had cracked over a dozen cases of mass level police corruption over his career and was responsible for the incarceration and discharge of a hundred or more police officers. His nickname of the devil was very well earned and He was not someone to be trifled with.

"You won't be doing anything with Ms. Frey, Captain Moreno. She's our responsibility now. We'll keep her safe."

"Now look here.." the Captain began to protest.

"Do you really believe that you are in any position to object."

It turned into a staring contest between Greer and Moreno and Captain Moreno blinked first. She shook her head and sat, defeated, back in her chair.

"Fine, take her."

"Lambert, she's all yours." Greer told his right hand man, "I'll be taking over the case now and until I figure out how deep this goes this entire homicide department is on suspension."

 

***

 

It was past midnight and Link and his men had been waiting under the overpass for nearly half an hour. It was the first time they were going to meet their informant face to face. The Russians were also their waiting next to their own SUV. All of them were heavily armed.

A few minutes later they spotted a pair of headlights heading their way. The car finally stopped a really pissed of police detective stepped out.

"You morons had one job to do, one lousy fucking job and you can't even do that right. All I said was to make sure the bodies weren't found so there would be no murder investigation, but apparently none of you assholes understand English." the Detective shouted at the gang members.

One of the members of The Brotherhood stepped forward with his gun pointed at the detective.

"Hey, fuck you. You don't mouth off to us. We pay you, you belong to us."

The moment the gang member was close enough, the detective side stepped, pushed the gun to a side and jammed a knife, that was hidden up his sleeve, up through the man's neck into his brain. The man turned off like a switch. The detective pulled out the knife and let the man drop to the ground. He stepped over the body and took out a handkerchief to wipe the knife.

"Let's get one thing straight," the detective said, "I don't work for you. I'm just helping you out because that's what my bosses south of the border told me to do. They think helping you sort out this business with the serial killer will help you lot get back on track. Personally I couldn't care less. But now because of your fuck up, Hannah Frey is under the protection of IA and I don't know where their safe house is, so all of this is going to take a lot longer."

Link motioned his guys to pick up the body. No matter how much he wanted he couldn't kill the detective, The detective was protected by the cartels and he had no intentions of angering them.

"How much longer?" one of the Russians asked.

"How the fuck should I know? It takes as long as it takes." the detective was really pissed off.

The Russian wisely decided to shut up.

"Now lets talk about how we deal with Samantha Groves when we do find her." The Detective said.

"What do you mean, how we deal with her. I intend to put a bullet in her head, eventually. Maybe I'll torture her first." Link replied.

"I don't think it's going to be that simple. Let's face it we have no idea who or what we are dealing with. From whatever little we know about her it looks like she can move in and out of shadows and that she's got an army of monsters. Now you lot keep saying they are dogs but you and I both know it's not dogs. I've seen picture of the victims from the building. Those claw and teeth marks are like nothing I've ever seen. So I sent them to my people to see if they could figure it out."

"And" Link asked out of curiosity.

The detective paused for a second trying to word the response.

"There are those among my people who believe that not everything can be explained by science, that there are older and darker things around us. Things we don't understand and probably shouldn't mess with."

"What, like voodoo and shit?" the same Russian who had questioned the detective before, joked.

"That's a different culture. If you're going to be racist at least get the race right"

The Russian once again shut up.

"Any ways the point is, my bosses are sending someone over that they believe can help."

"Like a witch" the Russian once again interrupted and chuckled.

A shot rang out and the Russian dropped to the ground. It was his own boss who had shot him in the head.

"I apologize, please continue." the boss said.

"As I was saying, they are sending a specialist. Someone who understands this kind of stuff. She'll be here tomorrow. I've given her your numbers so she'll get in touch sometime tomorrow night. Oh, and another thing, my bosses say she's a little strange and definitely crazy so... handle with care." the detective said with a grin.

"Wonderful. That's exactly what we need, one crazy bitch to handle another one."

Just as the detective turned around to leave, Link called out.

"Hey, this psycho got a name?"

“Umm.. wait a second, let me check.” said the detective.

The detective checked the name on the cellphone.

"Yeah, Kara Stanton."

 

***

 

Root had been at the library for two days now and she was beginning to get bored out of her mind. She had no computer or television to entertain her, nor could she venture out, so she had taken to browsing through the books in the library especially from the occult section. To her surprise Harold Finch, unbeknownst to him, had managed to collect quite a few books on magic. Some of them were quite esoteric indeed, explaining the nature of the various worlds and dimensions that surrounded their realm. There was even a book on the shadow realm, which she found very educational.

But she was still bored and starting to feel lonely. She had had no contact with Sameen in all this time and all her tries at contacting her or Cole had gone unanswered. So she had started to spend more and more time in the shadow realm and since time moved slightly differently there, sometimes she wasn't even aware how long she'd been there. It was just that increasingly she felt odd coming back to the real world, like it would just be better if stayed back there but then she felt as if she still had things she needed to finish in this world.

But first she needed to figure out where Sameen was.

 

***

 

"Where's Officer Laskey? Has anyone seen Officer Laskey?" Detective Lambert asked as he stepped out of his office.

Fusco and Martine looked around but couldn't spot him. They, along with other officers and detectives from the homicide squad at the 8th Precinct were at the Internal Affairs office waiting to be questioned.

It was a large, modern looking office with glass cabins, carpeted flooring and a working air conditioning. At least the suspects who were being questioned were grilled under a cool atmosphere. IA apparently had all the funding they would ever want and then some. After all no one was stupid to question the Office of Internal Affairs why they needed the funds.

It was the third day since the homicide squad suspension. Their workload had temporarily been transferred to other departments, which the other departments weren't happy about. But I.A. had said that they would speed things up and the moment they decided that a particular officer or detective wasn't involved they would lift their suspension. So far about five of them were back to work including the Captain.

"Detective Fusco, you know Officer Laskey, am I right?" Lambert asked.

"Yeah, but I haven't seen him since yesterday. Maybe you can send someone over to his place to have a look." Fusco replied.

"Maybe."

Lambert just stood there for a bit, thinking. Then he immediately went into another glass cabin and began talking to his colleagues. Fusco could see them pulling out files and working on their computer. After almost fifteen to twenty minutes of furious activity Lambert suddenly leaned in and stared at a computer screen. He straightened up and smiled.

He stepped out of the office and went towards Greer's office to tell update him of the situation.

"What do you think's going on? You think Laskey's involved?" Drayton whispered to Fusco.

"No way. I know the kid. He's clean as a whistle."

 

***

 

By the next day the rumour had spread like wildfire. Everyone at the precinct was talking about it. Mike Laskey was the mole and now he was on the run. By afternoon it was confirmed. The IA team had found over a dozen hidden accounts, all pointing to payments he had been receiving for almost two years from the Russians and a few other gangs. It turned out that Laskey's parents were Russian immigrants, so the connection seemed natural. No one questioned it except Fusco.

"I don't buy it, not one bit." Fusco said.

They were back in the precinct after almost a week of inactivity and with no clue as to what was happening with the manhunt. The IA investigation had ended up taking precedence over the hunt for Samantha Groves. It was also on every news channel by now. After all police corruption was a far more juicier story than the on going but boring hunt for a supposed serial killer. Even Harold Finch had dropped by to get some details for his blog.

Martine was sitting next to Fusco, watching the news.

"And now we're taking you live to Mike Laskey's home. We are going to talk to his parents and see if they knew anything about their son being on the mob's payroll." said a sharply dressed news anchor.

"Oh god. I really feel bad for his parents. They don't deserve this." Martine said.

"Laskey doesn't deserve this either."

"Lionel, I understand how you're feeling but sometimes you don't see something like this coming. All of my years working undercover, there's one thing I learnt, the ones you suspect the least are the ones who end up betraying you."

"Look, I get that. But all of this still feels too convenient. I mean he goes missing and they immediately find all those accounts. If he'd been at it for two years wouldn't he have better at hiding this stuff."

"I don't know, people get over confident sometimes." Martine suggested but Fusco wasn't buying it. Martine knew her partner wasn't going to be convinced otherwise.

"What do you want to do?" she asked.

"I don't know yet. But I'll figure something out." Fusco went quiet as he tried to figure out what exactly was going on.

 

Sometime later Captain Moreno announced that based on the recommendations of the Internal Affairs department, the Chief of Police was setting up a separate task force to handle the Samantha Groves investigation and all the files and evidence pertaining to the case were to be handed over to them the next day.

"Well, that was expected. There's no way anyone's going to let us anywhere near the case now." Martine said looked dejected.

All those months of hard work of trying to figure out what was going on and getting so close to arresting Samantha Groves and now somebody else would get all the credit. But there was nothing they could do about it.

"Let's get out here and get drunk. This is too depressing."

 

***

 

Twenty minutes later they were sitting in the local pub nursing their favourite drinks. The pub was filled with a few other police officers from the Homicide Squad. They could hear whispered conversations going on everywhere and most of them were about Laskey. Someone even used the word "commie". Even though Fusco had seen it before it still surprised him how quickly people turned on someone.

"All these guys were supposed to be his friends." Fusco said.

"It happens all the time, Lionel. It's just human nature."

"I still don't get why?"

"Why what, why Laskey? Ok lets say for a minute you're right, That Laskey's innocent that someone planted the evidence on him. Why would someone do that?" Martine asked her partner.

"That's what's been bothering me all day. Why plant evidence on anyone? It's not like I.A. was any close to solving this. They had no suspects at all."

"That's what you think. Maybe they had already suspected Mike." said Martine playing the devil's advocate.

"But that's the thing, they'd already questioned Mike and he told me that they had cleared him."

"So why did they call him in again. Maybe they found some new evidence."

"Or maybe they had an anonymous tip."

"Now you're reaching" Martine said.

"I don't know. It just doesn't add up."

"Lionel, there's nothing to add up. It's all cut and dry. After what happened at the Groves's residence we already knew that there was a mole and after what happened to Renwick and Adrian's case, I mean, that was a complete disaster. It was a miracle that Hannah Frey is even alive. It was just a matter of time before the IA got their man. "

"Yeah, I guess you're right. I'm just have a hard time believing it. He was a friend after all and he was smart kid. He would have made a great detective some day."

"I know Lionel. I liked him too. Right now let's just focus on putting all of this behind us. Hannah Frey is safe. IA got their man. Tomorrow after they set up the task force we can ask the captain to put us on it. After all no one knows Samantha Groves better than us, right?" Martine smiled and suggested.

Lionel looked at his partner and smiled in return.

"Sounds like a plan."

"So go home, see your wife and kid and tomorrow will be a better day. I promise."

 

***

 

It was close to two in the morning. The building was dark and empty and it creaked and groaned like a sleeping monster. Samantha Groves's house was sealed shut by the police. There was hardly anything inside except for the burnt out furniture and some other appliances. Whatever the police could gather as evidence had been gathered. There was some street light coming in through the broken windows but in some corners the light never seemed to reach, as if the shadows were reluctant to relinquish their hold.

Suddenly the air in the apartment flickered and a moment later a woman was standing in the middle of the room.

The weather was cold and she was dressed for it and very fashionably at that. She was beautiful and had long wavy black hair. She had a smile on her face but it never seemed to reach her cold dark eyes. She was wearing a knee length coat to keep herself warm but she didn't look like she needed it. She had an air of imperviousness to her, like nothing really touched her. She was wearing a pair of stylish two tone sepia and black pumps. She obviously had expensive tastes but she also wasn't too bothered about getting them dirty on the soot covered floor. Not that that was an issue since it looked as if she wasn't really touching the floor at all. As she walked across the floor she never left any footprints.

At that moment a small shadow creature approached her tried to take a swipe at her but failed. She was too quick.

"Well, well, well. Aren't you a brave one." she said as quickly bent down and grabbed the shadow creature which was trying to escape.

She stared at as it struggled in her grasp, taking swipes at her with it's massive claws but seemed to hit nothing but thin air. The woman finally got bored of the show. She raised her other hand and uttered a spell under her breath. The shadow creature began to shake violently and trails of liquid light began to pour out of it and fly towards the woman's hand. The creature began to lose form and in a few seconds was nothing more than black liquid that poured off her hand.

She took out her handkerchief and wiped her hands.

She walked around surveying the burnt out apartment. She could spot other shadow creatures running across the room, but none of them dared approach her. Her little display was enough to announce her as a natural predator. She eventually reached the wall where Root had opened the portal. She could still feel the wild and chaotic energies emanating from the spot. She reached out and touched it.

"This should be fun" the woman smiled and said.

A second later the air shivered again and the woman was gone, leaving no trace of her presence except for the puddle of black water that was once a shadow creature.

 

***

 

Harold Finch had dropped by the subway station to talk to his friend.

"Have you read this?" Harold asked as he approached Elias.

Elias saw the news that Harold was pointing towards.

"Yes. You think it's her. You think she's killing off witnesses and potential leads." Carl asked.

Harold put down the newspaper on the desk and sat down on the leather chair.

"I don't know. I don't think so. I talked to John, he says that she hasn't left the library at all but Ms. Groves seems to skills that we might not be entirely aware off. So if she wanted to give John the slip I'm sure she's perfectly capable of that."

"But you don't think she did it?"

"No."

"So that leaves The Brotherhood and the Russians."

"Pretty much."

"I think, tomorrow, you should go and ask her just to be sure. She doesn't seem to be the kind to deny one of her own kills."

"OK." Harold agreed.

He was about to get up and leave when he paused.

"Carl, what the plan here, what are you going to do with Ms. Groves? I ask because she's too volatile to be put to any good use."

"I agree and until the news of these killings came up even I wasn't sure what I was going to do with her. As I said before, I just saved her purely out of curiosity."

"But now you have a plan?" Harold asked.

"Not so much as a plan but a hope based on a calculated prediction. A prediction that our enemies will do what's in their nature." Elias smiled.

"What do you mean?" Harold, now, sounded curious. He wondered what his friend was planning.

"Harold, so far all of this has been nothing more than a game for Root, which is why she never cared about the gangs coming after her. Which is why even after they almost killed her she never thought about retaliation. But now, with The Brotherhood going after her friends and family it's going to get personal. Sooner or later they are going to kill someone that's going to be dear to her and when that happens all we have to do is be there for her. To support her. Understand"

Harold stared at his friend and smiled in response.

"You want to use her as a weapon."

"She's not just a weapon Harold, she's a god-damned tactical nuke. You saw what she did in the attack on her building and she said she was just having fun. Imagine how much damage she can do if she's pissed off. If we're lucky we won't even have to lift a finger. She could get rid of every single one of our enemies. As I said, we just have to wait and when it happens we just provide her with whatever she needs."

"But it all depends on if it happens. If the gangs do what you think they'll do."

"It's not a question of if Harold just a question of when. Sooner or later the Russians and the Brotherhood will hurt someone that Root likes. No one is that solitary. No one is an island."

 

***

  


By the morning of the next day, the Chief of Police had formally announced the formation of a special task force to handle the case of Samantha Groves and that members of the task force would announced soon. Martine and Fusco were trying to see if they could get Captain Moreno to figure out a way to make them part of the task force. As it stood at that moment, it seemed that no one from the Homicide squad would be part of the team. The Chief was picking up members from the Gangs division and the Organized Crimes division. The Captain told Martine and Fusco that she would try their best but not to hold on to any hope given all the various allegations of corruption flying around.

By evening the names of the members of the task force had been announced and Martine and Fusco weren't on the list. With nothing much to do they both decided to call it an early day and went back to their local pub.

"This sucks." Fusco said as he downed his drink in one gulp.

"Yes it does. But the captain did try her best." Martine replied.

"Yeah, I guess. Any news of Laskey as yet. Did they find him?"

"Nothing yet, but I have been thinking about what you said. About the fact that if Laskey is innocent then why would someone plant the evidence on him. What would be the motivation?"

"And, do you have an answer yet, because I'm still drawing a blank."

"Well, I was thinking about everything that's happened since then, since I.A. discovered that Laskey was the mole."

"The only big thing that's happened is that we lost the fucking case." Fusco said angrily.

"Yeah, exactly."

"And now those bastards will take all the credit."

"Fusco, screw the credit. Just think. What if that's what someone wanted all along, to get control of the case."  Martine sounded like she was finally on to something.

"But why, it's not as if anyone knows where Samantha Groves is. She's vanished into the night. So what would be the point what else do we have?" Fusco said.

"Oh fuck, I think I know what they wanted and it's not a what it's a who."

"A who." said Fusco as he tried to make sense of what Martine was getting at and a moment later he got it, "Fuck, they're trying to get to Hannah Frey."

"Exactly, now that there's a task force, IA will transfer Hannah and her daughter over to them and that's what the mole wanted all along, an opportunity to get to her. Let's go we need to stop the transfer."

"But where do we go?" Fusco asked wondering who would listen to them.

"To the only man who can possibly do something, Greer."

The two detectives left their drinks and rushed out without paying. The bartender had seen this often enough and just put it on their tab.

 

***

 

As the two detectives rushed the across the city to meet the devil, Root was sitting in her room above the library making preparations for a spell.

Ever since her little stunt with the Shadows she had had no contact with Sameen and it was now starting to worry her. She had tried every method she knew of contacting her but to no avail. Finally it were her Shadow friends that had suggested something. A special summoning spell. A spell from their realm. They knew all the various Deaths via distinct symbols which they had shared with her. She now knew the ones for Sameen, Cole and a lot of the others in the deathly hierarchy. The spell was complex and it required her to consume some of the essence of the shadows, the black liquid that created them,  that gave them their form and abilities. Root had no idea what effect it would have on her but she was desperate to talk to Sameen.

She had a little bowl in front of her filled with the black water from the shadow realm. She took a deep breath and put it to her lips. She drank it all in one gulp and then waited for it to take affect. For a few seconds nothing happened. Then her entire body went cold from the inside out. She could see her breath turn to vapour as it came out of her mouth. She stood in front of the mirror and she could see herself visibly change. Her nails turned to claws, the whites of her eyes became blacker than night, she felt her bones grow more joints than she felt she needed. Pain rocked her entire body. She tried to scream but no sound came out. She fell to the floor as the transformations continued. Eventually her ear grew larger and she began to grow fangs. Her jaw protruded outwards accommodate additional teeth. She prayed for the pain to end but the transformations didn't stop. Her back began to grow sharp spikes. Her arms and legs became elongated. She got up on all fours and looked at herself in the mirror. She looked like some kind of a long limbed werewolf with a spiny back. Her skin had turned black but she felt grateful that she hadn't begun to grow fur. She felt like she finally saw herself for what she had become.

A monster.

The thought of fur hadn't left her mind and as she looked at her arm she could see fur growing on her skin and she realized that her transformation was controllable. That it was dependant on her will. So she concentrated on reverting back. It took some effort but after a few minutes she could see her old self emerging again. This time she felt no pain but the effort she had to put in was both mentally and physically exhausting. Soon she was back to normal but sweating profusely. She was back to her human form except for the fingers on her hands which still had long sharp talons protruding from them. She stared at them and they too slowly began to retreat.

She didn't know if the effects of the black water were permanent but she felt that it could be useful. She didn't really care what effect it would have on her body or her soul.

As she admired her new found abilities she suddenly remembered that she had a spell to complete. She tried to remember what her Shadow friends had told her. They didn't really have a language as such since they mostly communicated telepathically so all she had to go on were mental pictures but she did her best. She drew the shadow symbol for Sameen, finished the spell and waited.

And then she waited some more.

A black circle appeared in front of her, but no one came.

She grew frustrated and tried again with the same results.

On her third attempt she decided to try and summon Cole. Maybe she was remembering Sameen's symbol wrong. This time it worked. In the blink of an eye another dark circle appeared on the floor next to the previous one and in the middle of it was Cole. He looked lost.

"What the fuck?" said Cole as he tried to get his bearing until he saw Root, "Root? How did you..."

"Hey Cole. Sorry to drag you here like this."

"But how? What you did is not really possible. To summon us like this. There are no spell books which contain those spells."

"Well, I had help from some friends." Root smiled, proud of her work.

"What friends?"

"The Shadows."

"Root, no," Cole looked horrified, "You can't use those spells, they aren't meant for humans, they do things to you, to your soul." Cole started to explain but Root wasn't interested.

"Look, I don't care. Just tell me where Sameen is?"

"Sameen is.... right here. She's bound in that circle and she's really pissed off."

"What, then why can't I see her?" Root looked baffled.

Cole sighed.

"Because that's her punishment and yours."

"What?"

"Root did you really think that after all the little stunts that you pulled and all the various times that Sameen helped and taught you things, that there wouldn't be any consequences. Our superiors had already issued Sameen warning on numerous occasions but she didn't listen. She liked you too much to care. But that night when you unleashed the Shadows, when she came to warn you, that was the final straw. She's now on suspension until the enquiry into her misconduct is complete. I'm currently handling the entire human work order."

"But why can't I see her?" Root asked.

"Because if there's one thing my higher ups are clear about, it's the fact that you are the main cause of the problem. So they've cast a spell on you which prevents you from sensing her in any way. Sameen can't even write to you. Around you, she and anything she has touched in completely incorporeal. That's her punishment. As long as you are alive, Sameen will remain invisible to you."

Root just stood there not knowing what to do.

"Can't the spell be broken." she asked desperately.

"Root," Cole smiled sadly, "this is a spell cast by Death itself. It's a spell as old as time. Nothing can break it not even your shadow friends."

"So what now." Root looked lost. After everything she had done to get closer to Sameen she had still managed to lose her and she had no way of getting her back.

"I don't know. Wish I could help."

Cole paused for a second and added, "Sameen says, she's really sorry."

Root smiled but there were tears streaming down her cheeks. She sat down on the bed, feeling more alone than she had ever felt in her entire life.

"You think you could release us." Cole asked softly.

Root waved her hand and the black circles vanished. Cole almost fell down after the barrier suddenly disappeared.

"Root, there's nothing you can do now. The only thing I can do is pass messages between the two of you but even I have been warned not to contact you."

Root sat there in silence, it looked like she was trying to come to some kind of a decision and she did.

"You know what, fuck it. If I can't be with her while I'm alive, I can be with her after I'm dead. I'm going to kill myself right now."

Root got up and opened the drawer on her bedside table and pulled out a gun. Cole didn't know what to do.

"Root, don't. I don't think that's going to work either. Dying might not solve your problems."

"Why not? As you said, as long as I am alive. Once I'm dead then I can see her and be with her."

"That's the thing Root, you..." but before he could finish his sentence Cole disappeared. To Root it looked as if some massive force had reached out and yanked him away.

"Cole, Cole." Root shouted.

She tried casting the spell again but it didn't work. She could sense something blocking her. Something a lot stronger and far older.

"Oh screw it." Root said frustratedly.

She picked up the gun from the bed, cocked it and put it to her temple and just as she was about to pull the trigger she heard another voice.

"Ms. Groves. Root. Are you there?" The voice came from downstairs. It was Harold Finch.

Root was still undecided as to whether or not she should pull the trigger but she eventually put the gun down and decided that listen to what Harold had to say. She could always blow her brains out later. And she still had to figure out as to what Cole wanted to tell her.

"Yeah, I'm upstairs but hang on, I'll come down."

 

**

 

A few minutes later she was sitting with Harold on the small kitchen in the back of the library.

"Root, is everything all right, you look troubled."

Root's eyes were still red from the tears.

"I'm fine. It's nothing that I can't handle. So why did you want to see me?"

"Have you been reading the newspapers lately?" Harold asked.

"Not really. I don't care much about the news."

"I think you should, especially this bit."

Harold took out a newspaper and put it in front of her. It was over a week old. Harold pointed towards a particular article. Root picked it up and began to read it. It was news about a murder and couple of missing people. She glanced through it and paused once she read the names.

"Joel Mintz. I know him. I know these other two as well. I worked with them in my previous company. What's going on, why would someone go after them?"

"I think you're smart enough to figure that out, Ms. Groves."

"They're looking for me, aren't they. But I barely knew these people. I mean I worked with them but it's not like we were friends or anything. But then I hardly have any friends."

"I think, it's safe to say, that the Brotherhood has someone inside the police department. Someone who's been feeding them information about your case. So they've been using that information to find anyone they can who can tell them your location."

"Yeah, but that's the thing about being a loner, you don't really have any close friends." Root replied sadly.

Harold smiled sympathetically, but then Root suddenly looked worried.

"What is it, Ms. Groves." Harold sounded concerned.

"I do have a friend, someone they can go after."

Harold wondered if his friend's prediction was about to come true and even though Harold wanted nothing more than to see their rival gangs destroyed he didn't want any innocent people to get hurt in the process.

"Who?" Now it was Harold's turn sound worried.

"Hannah Frey." Root replied.

 

 


	9. Planning

Detective Jeremy Lambert had never imagined that he would end up working at Internal affairs.

Born in a family that had had three generations of cops the only thing he had ever wanted was to become a detective and make his parents proud. He had graduated from the academy with high scores and then moved to Chicago and became a cop. He became a detective within two years of joining the force and within three years of becoming a detective he had been decorated twice for his work on specific cases. He had eventually decided to join the narcotics division because he felt that that was where he would make the most amount of difference. But within a month of his transfer he began to notice that things weren't as they seemed. Almost no one in the division was clean including his partner and the corruption went all the way up till the highest level.

But he did nothing.

If there was one thing that had been ingrained into him by his family was never rat on your fellow officer. He was told by his father about how many innocent cops had lost their jobs because of internal affairs and how the only thing I.A. was interested in was to ruin the police department. That all cops were brothers in arms and that they should all stick together.

Even though he never took a dime, he knew he was guilty just by association. Every time his partner took a bribe or his unit would steal cash from a drug bust he knew he was guilty, because he did nothing. He would sometimes find it difficult to sleep at night. All the things he knew and the things he had let happen due to his own inactions were starting to prey on his mind. Yet he refused to be a rat.

Then one day it all changed.

His partner would routinely moonlight as security for the local drug dealers. On one such gig he decided to play security for one of the larger gangs in the city which was getting in a major shipment of Heroine into the city and everything went south. The deal was going to take place at a scrap yard. The gang decided to double cross the Cartel which was delivering the shipment but they severely underestimated the cartel's security. The whole thing turned into a bloodbath. Among the many killed in the ensuing gun battle were his partner and two other cops who were on the same security detail.

But in all of this a bunch of kids who had decided to play there on that fateful night got caught in the middle. There were four of them. Three were killed in the crossfire but the fourth survived.

The whole incident became a matter of high priority. No one involved, on either side of the law, had any intentions of going to prison. The higher ups jumped in to cover up the whole thing up. The major players on both sides got away. A few low level criminals were arrested and a few cops were made scapegoats as part of an Internal investigation. Jeremy was both impressed and disgusted by how quickly everyone closed ranks to protect their own but just when he thought it was all over he realised that he had seriously underestimated their sense of self preservation.

In the middle of it all there remained a single loose thread. A witness. The kid from the scrapyard who had yet to regain consciousness and he never did. Two weeks after the incident the young boy died of complications arising from his injuries or at least that was the official report but Jeremy knew the truth, his seniors were just ensuring the no one was left who could tell the truth.

That night as Jeremy made his way home after hearing the news of the young boys death from an almost smiling and relieved colleague he knew he could no longer let this pass, he had to do something even if it meant his job and even possibly his life. The code wasn't worth it if all it was meant to do was to make you feel guilty about doing the right thing and for the guilty to hide behind it.

He took a week off saying he wanted to get over his partner's death and even the department shrink approved. He told everyone that he was going back home to visit his family but instead he secretly contacted John Greer who at that stage was a senior detective at the Department of Internal Affairs. He had met Greer at the academy during his training. He had hated the man since he stood for everything Jeremy despised but he knew the man had a reputation for being honest and thorough. Jeremy knew he could trust him.

In their meeting he told Greer everything he knew or suspected. Greer already knew most of what Lambert told him but he had never found any evidence or a witness to any of those things. He knew Chicago was a cesspool of crime and corruption. He agreed to help Lambert if he would go undercover for him and Lambert agreed. For the next year Lambert pretended to be on the take and gathered evidence against all of his colleagues and seniors. By the end of the year I.A. launched a massive investigation based on his evidence. It led to the arrest and conviction of over 25 police officers including the captain of his own precinct.

After the case was over and the dust had settled Lambert knew that there was no way he could stay at his precinct or for that matter in Chicago. He had made too many enemies. He was about ready to quit when Greer offered him a position at I.A. and that's where he had remained for the past decade. He had never regretted his decision because he knew that someone had to watch the watchmen and that thought let him sleep better at night.

But he also promised himself that he wouldn't let an innocent police officer got to prison and so he had decided to investigate officer Laskey's case as thoroughly as possible before he closed it. He was surprised to find a lot of anomalies in the case. A lot of the evidence just wasn't adding up. He was quite sure that someone had framed the young officer.

He was on his way to inform Greer when he ran in detectives Martine and Fusco.

"What are you two doing here." Lambert asked.

"We need to see your boss? It's really urgent. We think somebody setup Officer Laskey." Martine replied.

"I think so too. I've been looking into the case for the past few days and I've come to the same conclusion. The only thing I can't figure out is why, beyond throwing off suspicion."

"I think whoever it is, is after Hannah Frey. Once she's out of your custody, the mole can get to her. That's why we need to talk to Captain Greer."

"Talk to me about what, Detective?"

John Greer had just stepped out of his office after hearing the discussion.

Martine laid out their theory to the head of I.A. while Lambert also put forward his own findings. Greer stood for a while thinking about the whole thing.

"Even though I admit that what you have said does make sense, I can't do anything unless you present me with some kind of concrete evidence. Besides it's already a little late. We transferred Hannah Frey and her daughter over to the special task force over an hour ago. Now unless you are telling me that someone on the task force is your mole then you better have some proof to back up your theory."

Even though it frustrated her, Martine knew what Greer had said was true. They did need evidence.

"Maybe if we can get the list of the people on the task force we can see if anyone in particular stands out." Fusco suggested and everyone agreed.

The nice thing about being in I.A. was that you always had access to everything you wanted. No one in their right mind wanted to get in their way unless they wanted to look guilty. Lambert made a call and had the list of officers on the task force emailed to him within a few minutes.

He handed over the printout to the two homicide detectives who started to go through the names. A lot of them were unknown but some were familiar, Officers and Detectives from the gang unit of their own precinct until one name immediately stood out.

Detective Dani Silva.

"Her." Martine said as she pointed out Silva's name from the list.

"Why her?" Lambert asked as he took the list from her.

"She was dating Officer Laskey. At least I think she was. They went out for a few dinners together."

"Get me her file." Greer instructed Lambert.

Lambert went to his office and made a call to have Silva's personnel file emailed to him. A few minutes later he called everyone into his office.

"Anything suspicious." Greer asked as they glanced at her file.

"Not really but the file seems incomplete." Lambert replied.

"How's that possible?" Fusco asked.

"Well, most of the times, precincts download personnel files and keep them on their local hard drives in case they need to access them and the central servers are slow. I think when they downloaded her file it might not have downloaded fully."

"Access the central server and get the main file." Greer told his subordinate.

They all stood around impatiently, waiting for Lambert to access the file.

"I think we have a serious problem." Lambert said as he stood in front of his computer staring at Dani Silva's file.

As they all approached the computer they all saw what was troubling Jeremy. The face staring back at them did not match the Dani Silva that they had all seen and met.

"What the fuck is going on? Who's that supposed to be?" Fusco asked.

"I think we have an imposter in our midst." Lambert replied.

"But how's that possible?" Martine asked.

"It's not too difficult. All she would have to do is replace the file that was downloaded by the precinct and that isn't complicated. Most days you don't even need hacking skills, you just need to understand human behaviour. As long as you are friendly with the right people they will give you access to anything." Greer explained.

"So she replaced the original file with the modified one and no one figured it out." Fusco asked.

"Here's the point. No one really questions anything till such time they are given a reason to do so. As long as everything is going fine an imposter can go unnoticed for the longest of time." Lambert explained.

"But we do have problem now. A very big problem." Martine said.

They all suddenly remembered why they were all their. Greer immediately picked up the phone and called up the detective heading the task force. They listened as Greer explained the situation to the Detective and asked him to immediately check up on the safe house and find Detective Silva. Within five minutes they got a call back. By what the detectives could over hear, the voice on the other end of the line sounded panicked. After hearing whatever the lead detective had to say Greer put the phone down.

"You three should leave right now. They can't make contact with the safe house and it seems like Detective Silva or whoever she is, was on the first shift protecting Ms. Hannah and her daughter." Greer explained as he wrote down the address of the safe house that had been provided to him by the lead detective.

Martine, Lambert and Fusco took the address and raced out of the office.

 

***

 

By the time the three of them reached the safe house, it looked as if half the city's police force was there. It was a scene of utter chaos and panic. They found out that not only had Dangerous Silva taken Hannah Frey and her daughter but all the other officers on the protection detail were dead. Dani had left no witnesses behind.

It didn't take a lot of persuasion on Lambert's part to let him and the two homicide detectives inspect the scene, since it was now abundantly clear that there had never been a mole in the homicide division, but that it had all been orchestrated by Detective Silva so that the case could be transferred to her squad. Also after seeing the bloody aftermath of Silva's handiwork, Martine came to the slow realization that the chances of Laskey being alive were next to none.

She looked around and saw Lambert going through the crime scene with surprising efficiency. Having a low opinion of anyone from internal affairs she had automatically assumed that Lambert was nothing more than a paper pusher, it now looked like she might had been wrong. He broke down the whole scene fairly quickly and even managed to figure out Silva's exit strategy.

There had been a total of six police officers guarding Hannah and Gen including Dani Silva. Lambert explained that Silva had managed to kill four of her colleagues with next to no effort. She had been so quick that they never even had time to react. Two of them had been shot at the dinner table. They had died with their forks still in their hands. One had had his throat slit next to the bathroom and the fourth had died sitting in a sofa next to the TV. It was the fifth detective who had managed to put up a some fight. Lambert walked them through the fight that had broken out between Silva and the last remaining detective. But it looked like the struggle hadn't lasted too long. It had started near the stairs as Dani might have tried to make her way upstairs to get to Hannah and was intercepted by the detective. But she had almost immediately gotten the upper hand. It looked like the detective had been trying to reach his gun when Silva had snapped his neck. They all came to the conclusion that whoever Silva was, her skill set was far beyond any ordinary street level thug or even law enforcement for that matter.

"Do you have any theories on who she could be?" Martine asked Lambert since he had managed to breakdown the crime scene with such efficiency.

"I think so, but let's get out of here first. Right now I don't know who to trust. We'll talk along the way."

They all got out. They thanked the lead detective for his cooperation, as if he had had a choice in the matter, and left.

 

***

 

Martine was driving with Fusco in the passenger side. Lambert was in the back seat talking to some old contact of his. He had said he just wanted to verify something.

It wasn't too late at night but the streets were empty since they were in the industrial part of town. The shifts had ended and the workers had gone back home. There were no residential complexes in the area. They were at a crossing when Martine spotted a black SUV approaching from behind. That momentary distraction made her miss the massive truck which rammed the side of the car and sent it spinning towards the street corner. Martine tried desperately to control the car but it slammed into a street light and came to an abrupt and violent halt.

Martine's body was still recovering from her previous injury and this sudden impact wasn't something that it was in the mood to handle. Fusco and Lambert were trying to come back to their senses. Their brains still reeling from the accident. Lambert managed to open the door and he fell out into the street. He looked up and saw the black SUV had come to a halt a few meters behind them. A tall woman stepped out and rushed towards them. He tried to call out and ask for help as she reached him.

"Are you alright?" the woman asked as she leaned in.

Lambert was about to answer when he was hit by massive bolt of electricity. Through the shaking and convulsing he looked down and saw that the woman had hit him with a taser. He looked up and Root smiled back at him. A second later Detective Jeremy Lambert blacked out.

 

***

 

Lambert woke up with a splitting headache, his body was still recovering from the electric shock and the accident. He looked around and saw Martine and Fusco next to him. All three of them were tied to their chairs.

He looked around to figure out where they were. It was still dark outside since he could see stars from the windows high up near the roof. It looked like a warehouse but he couldn't make out the size since it was shrouded in darkness except for the giant floodlights that were aimed directly at them. He thought that he could make out few people standing in the shadows but he wasn't sure how many.

"Hey, you alright?" he turned towards Martine and asked.

"As good as can be expected." Martine replied as she tried to get her brain back fully functioning.

"I'm good too, thanks for asking" Fusco said from the other end of the line, feeling a little left out.

Martine smiled.

"Well, that's good. I was wondering when you'd all come around." Root said as she stepped into the light.

"What the fuck do you want?" Fusco asked angrily.

"Is that how you talk to someone who saved your life." Root said mockingly.

"What the fuck do you want, ma'am. Is that better?"

Root laughed but Martine could see that the woman was on the verge of losing her temper and she wasn't sure if she wanted to get This s woman mad knowing what she was capable of.

"Why are we here?" Martine asked in a softer tone.

"Because I need information. I need to know who's taken Hannah and Gen."

"How do even know that?" Fusco asked, surprised how up to date Root's information was.

"I've made a few new friends in the past week. They let me know. But you still haven't answered my question."

"Why should we tell you that. As far as I'm concerned you're as bad the people who took her." Martine replied.

"Oh, I'm much worse than them but that doesn't really matter at the moment. What matters is that do you really want to test my patience on this matter, because I could always turn of the light and have my other friends play around with the three of you. Maybe you would like that."

"You know what, fuck you, do your worst." Martine definitely wasn't in the mood to be threatened. She had been shot, blown up, rammed by a truck and electrocuted in these past ten days and she's had enough of it.

Root could see the resolve in the detective's face and knew that maybe she'd gone a little too far. Maybe she should just be upfront with them. She pulled up a chair and sat down.

"You and both know that whoever's taken them are not actually interested in them. They just want me and since they can't find me they're going after the few friends that I have. If you can tell me whatever you know maybe I can figure out a way to get her and Gen back."

Martine thought about it for a second and decided there was no harm in sharing information.

"Tell you what. If we tell you what you want to know, we want to be there when you make your move. Deal?" Martine said.

Root didn't even think about it for a second before she agreed. Up until a few hours ago she was almost ready to kill herself, but now she had to make sure that no one innocent would die because of her mistakes. Then she would let the cops do whatever they wanted to do with her.

"Deal and when this is all over I'll even hand myself over to you." Root replied.

"Perfect. Now could you untie us." Martine asked.

"I don't think so. It's not that I don't trust you but I'm not taking any chances." Root replied.

Martine sighed. It was worth a shot, but the tall woman wasn't stupid.

"Alright, so we don't know much, but we are pretty sure that it was either the Brotherhood or the Russians behind it. But if you're planning to hand yourself over to them you shouldn't expect them to keep their side of the bargain. They aren't the trustworthy sort."

"Oh I'm pretty sure of that. But I've got a few tricks up my sleeve too," Root replied with a grin, "what I want to know is who took them so I know who exactly I'm facing."

This time Martine turned towards Lambert who had been fairly quiet so far.

"What, you actually want me to share information with a wanted serial killer?" Lambert asked.

"Yeah, because we're all friends now." Fusco replied mockingly.

"Absolutely." Root smiled innocently.

"Oh fine. Hannah Frey and her daughter were taken by Detective Dani Silva or at least somebody impersonating her. That part even those two could have told you. But I think the reason Detective Martine wanted me to talk was because I mentioned I had a theory." Lambert said.

"Which is?" Root asked impatiently.

"This is all conjecture at the moment but if I'm right and I think I am then we could be up against somebody particularly vicious and well trained. The story is that back in the eighties the CIA trained a team of Colombians special forces to infiltrate the Cartels. These people were experts at infiltration, subterfuge and assassinations. But then one day they all vanished. People said they switched sides after they found out that someone in their own government had betrayed one of their missions. So they decided to work for the cartels and then over time started training others. Their methodology is always the same. They will infiltrate a place using a fake identity and blend in. Then strike when you least expect. When I was in Chicago they had sent someone over to take care of a witness. The woman they sent over disguised herself as a nurse and she used a knife to kill the boy. The wound was similar to the ones that the dead detectives had back at the safe house."

They all sat their in silence trying to process this information.

"How did the Colombian cartel get mixed up in this?" Root asked.

"Well, it's fairly common knowledge that The Brotherhood is trying to get major narcotics shipments into the city and they've been reaching out to the cartels down south. I'm sure after you started killing them willy nilly they must have sent someone over to safeguard their investments."

"Wow, I really stirred up a hornet's nest, didn't I, and here I was just trying to have some fun." Root tried to smile but she found she couldn't. Hannah and Gen were in this situation because of her and it was up to her to get them back. Whoever this Dani Silva was, she was going to make sure she died a slow and painful death, Root promised herself.

"So now you know what we know, so what's your plan?" Martine asked.

"I'll get in touch with them and arrange for the trade. I'll let you know when it goes down and you can drop by with the cavalry."

"Sounds good."

Root stood up and took out a cellphone. She put it on her chair.

"You can take this after I leave. Keep it on you so I can call you when the time comes." Saying that Root turned around and left the three detectives still tied to their chair.

"Hey cuckoo clock, how about untying us first." Fusco shouted at the retreating figure of Root.

She stopped and turned around.

"My friends will help you with that." She said and then continued walking.

They tried looking around but they couldn't see anyone else, but then the floodlights dimmed and all of a sudden they could see hundreds of eyes glowing in the dark looking back at them. They could hear the sound of clawed feet on the concrete floor and then began to feel something chewing at their ropes. A few seconds later they were free. All three of them immediately leaped out of their chair. Lambert leaped the farthest.

They turned around and they could the the shadow creatures disappearing back into the darkness.

"What the fuck were those thing?" Lambert almost shouted.

"Don't ask because I don't know" Martine replied calmly as she picked up the phone, "now let's get out of here and get some sleep. I think we're going to have a busy day tomorrow starting with explaining to the captain that we just struck a deal with the serial killer that we are supposed to arrest."

"You don't want to go her now?" Lambert asked.

"No," Fusco said, "Look, right now more than half the city's police force will be out looking for those missing ladies. If we're lucky they'll find them by tomorrow morning and we won't have to tell the captain a thing. If not then we have this as a backup plan. Let those fuckers from the gang unit who stole our case do some hard work for once."

"Besides the two of us are still on medical leave." Martine added.

Lambert chuckled.

As they were walking out Lambert said,

"You know, hanging out with you two is the most fun I've had in years. You two lead such exciting lives."

"Trust me we don't want to. But you're more than welcome to join us for some more after hours fun." Martine grinned and replied.

"It's a date." Lambert said as they tried to figure out how they were going to get back home without their car until they saw that Root had been gracious enough to leave them one.

 

***

 

"Can you trust them. Ms. Groves?" Harold asked as Root got into the black SUV that was parked behind the warehouse.

Harold motioned Reese to drive.

"I doesn't matter. I just need to get Hannah and Gen back."

"Are you seriously considering handing yourself over to the brotherhood?" Harold asked.

"I don't think I have much of a choice. I can't attack them, no matter how quick I am they still might be able to kill her. So I have to get them out in the open, then I can make my move."

"And what is your move?"

"Don't know yet, but I'll think of something." Root didn't sound too sure of herself.

Harold noticed it too.

"Why don't you use those tiny friends of yours to find her. I don't know what they are but they seem to be quite resourceful." Harold suggested.

He had seen the shadow creatures on occasion in Root's room and had heard her talking to them. He had never seen anything like them but all of those years of studying the occult had him open to the possibility of things that were outside their plane of existence.

"That's the problem. I did ask them but they can't seem to locate her at all. It's as if someone has figured out a way to block them and that's what is worrying me."

"Is that possible?" Harold sounded concerned.

"It should be, right? I mean, it would be foolish of me to imagine that I am the only person in the world who can communicate with them. There must be others. It seems the brotherhood might have someone with them who understands this stuff even better than I do and if that's the case then my friends might not be around to help me when the exchange happens."

"That does not sound good, Root."

"Don't worry, Harry. I was good at killing people even before I learnt all this stuff. I was always good at killing people. Sometimes I think that's the only thing I was ever good at."

"May I ask why you did it? Was it just for the fun of it because you don't seem the sort."

"Oh, don't fool yourself Harry. I am very much the sort. But you are right, I did do it for a reason. Not that I didn't enjoy it. I think after a while it was just an excuse. I got to meet her and indulge myself. But now she's gone and I'm lost without her."

"Her? You had a partner." Harold had never heard her talk about someone else.

"Not really, it was just a way to attract her attention. But now I can't see her anymore. She's hidden from me and I think the only way I can meet again is if I die, so that's what I'm going to do." Root's eyes suddenly lit up as she said those word out loud.

"You're serious about this. You're really going to kill yourself. You really believe there is a life after death."

"Absolutely, I've seen it. I'm not as crazy as I look Harry. So it doesn't matter if I kill myself or they do it because that's what I want anyways. But I can't do it till I make sure Hannah and Gen are safe. So let's get that done first. Then I can happily die and if you're lucky you might even get to meet my girlfriend. She's really something to look at. Now do you have that number I asked for?" Root asked happily.

Root could finally see a way out of this mess and way to be with Sameen. Harold still couldn't make out if she was serious or if the woman sitting next to him had finally lost her mind completely but he had seen her do things that no normal person should be capable of doing, who was he to say that there was no such thing as life after death. So, he calmly handed her a piece of paper with a phone number scribbled on it.

Root told him to stop the car on the side of the road so she could make the call. The number was for a pub that the brotherhood used to launder their money. The phone rang a few times before someone picked it up.

"Yeah, what the fuck do you want?" asked a sleepy voice from the other end of the line.

"Hi. This is the crazy bitch that's been killing all your friends. I was wondering if you I could talk to the woman called Dani Silva." Root said cheerfully.

"What?" the voice on the other end sounded really confused.

"Look, I take it you're not the brains of the organisation so here's the thing. I need to talk to Dani Silva. If she doesn't call me back on this number in the next ten minutes then I'm going to come pay you a visit with some friends of mine. The same friends who were with me in my apartment, is that clear?" Root said coldly and cut the phone.

By now the man on the other end was fully awake and under no circumstances did he want that crazy bitch to come visit his joint. In fact he told himself he was going to take a vacation immediately after he had conveyed the message to his higher ups. He didn't need deal with this shit. He was just there to count the money.

 

***

 

Root didn't have to wait too long for the response. Five minutes later her phone rang.

"Is that Detective Silva?" Root asked.

"Sure, why not. Let's go with that for now." The voice on the other end replied mockingly, "someone told me I should be expecting your call soon."

"Who did?" Root asked. She was surprised by that statement.

"No one you should be worried about." came the reply.

But somehow the tone of the voice told Root that she should definitely be worried about it.

"If you say so." Root said nonchalantly.

"Alright, so what do you want. I take it you didn't call just for a late night chat."

"Put Hannah on the line. Once I hear her voice then we talk further."

"Sure."

Root was surprised how quickly the woman agreed. She sounded confident to the point of arrogance. But Root knew, from what Detective Lambert had told her, that the arrogance was backed by an exceptional skill set. She wasn't going to make the mistake of underestimating this woman.

A few seconds later Root heard Hannah's voice.

"Hannah?" Root said relieved to hear her friend's voice.

"Root, is that you? What's going on? Who are all these people? They keep asking about you. I told them I don't know anything. Just tell them to let us go. I just want Gen safe." Hannah sounded distraught. If Root could have seen her she would have seen that Hannah wasn't in very great shape either. She had several cuts and bruises and rope burns on her wrists from trying to escape her restraints.

"I'm sorry, Hannah. I never meant for you or Gen to get hurt. I am going to make sure you're both safe. I promise"

"Root...."

Before Hannah could start speaking again Silva yanked the phone away from her.

"There you go, proof of life. Happy" Silva asked. She motioned a couple of guys to drag Hannah back to the kitchen and tie her up again.

Root was shaking with rage. She could hear Hannah yelling in the background but the voice suddenly cut off. It sounded like someone had put a gag on her mouth. It took a moment for her to calm down.

Root took a deep breath and answered the woman's question.

"Yeah."

"Now what?" Silva asked.

"A trade. I'll hand myself over and you let them go. After all that's what your employers want anyways, right?"

"Sounds good."

Dani Silva wasn't a woman of too many words and she didn't need to be. The fact that Root had called meant that she cared about Hannah Frey and her daughter and she didn't have too many options if she wanted to see them alive. Silva knew a winning hand when she saw one.

"When and where?" Root asked.

"Tomorrow night. Keep that phone on you and I'll let you know the location."

"Alright." replied Root and just as she was about to cut the phone she heard Silva's voice.

"Remember this, you try anything clever and I'll slit their throats in front of you. The little girl goes first, just so you and her mother can have the pleasure of seeing her die. Do we understand each other?"

"Yes."

 

***

 

The woman who called herself Silva put the phone down. It was close to midnight and she was in a small restaurant that they had temporarily taken over. The owners of the restaurant were dead and thrown into the deep freeze in the back. The mother and daughter were safely secured in the kitchen with half a dozen guys watching over them.

She had been told that the woman, Root, had some pretty interesting abilities. That she could move in and out of shadows, which was why she had asked for the specialist that her bosses had sent her. That specialist was, at that moment, sitting at a table having a cup of coffee.

Dani turned around to face Kara Stanton.

"How did you know she would call?" she asked Kara.

Kara put down her coffee and looked up at the assassin.

"Because her little friends are scouring the town looking for those two. She must really care about them." she replied with a smile.

"And you're sure she won't be able to find us? This shield of yours, will it work?"

Kara chuckled, amused at the question.

"My dear, if that shields wasn't working, those little creatures would not only have found those two, but they would have ripped you and everyone else in this place to shreds by now. This woman, she does have exceptional control over those creatures."

Silva just nodded in response as Kara Stanton got up to leave.

"Since we're done for now I'm going to get some sleep. I suggest you do the same. Tomorrow should be fun" Kara Stanton said as disappeared into the night.

 

***

 

Death is everywhere.

It needs to be, since people are never considerate enough to come together and die just once a week or not die on weekends so that Death could take a much deserved vacation. But there are always places in the world where people die in such great numbers that it requires Death to pay special attention.

And so Sameen sat in her official deathly persona, an ocean and a continent away, on a hill overlooking a small city on fire.

The fires had been raging for days as the fighting between the rebels and the soldiers of the local government continued. Most of the city was nothing more than a pile of rubble. Sameen was surprised that there were still people left alive in the city but if the violence continued at a similar pace then she knew that at least she wouldn't have to stick around for too long.

Every once in awhile she would flicker in and out of existence as she would go down to the city to collect another poor soul and she would bring it back to the hill. There were nearly forty five souls standing behind her. Sameen was taking a well earned break from the constant ferrying. She had decided that she would wait for the number to reach a nice round half a century and then deliver them en masse.

The dead consisted of soldiers, rebel fighters and a lot of poor innocent bystanders. Most of them were just wandering around aimlessly wondering what was going on. Some of them sat on the ground and cried. The children had formed a small team and had started playing some sort of a game. Every once in while some soul would summon up the courage to approach her and ask what the delay was but would never receive an answer and would eventually give up and go back to its aimless wandering.

Sameen was lost in her thoughts wondering what Root was up to when Cole appeared by her side.

"Hey, Cole."

Cole remained standing by her side but didn't reply. It was as if he was trying to figure out how to break the news to her. But Sameen had already figured out from his silence it was definitely something to do with Root.

"What did she do this time?"

Sameen had told Cole to keep an eye on Root, to make sure she didn't indulge in any more stupidity than she already had.

Cole thought about that for a second before answering.

"It's not what she's done, but then she's already done enough, it's what she's heading into."

"And what's that."

"I think she's heading into a lot more trouble than even she's aware of."

"Trouble that even those little critters of hers can't handle?" Sameen asked.

"I doubt that. I think someone within the gangs finally got smart. They seem to have found some expert in dark magic. A woman and she seems truly formidable. I tried to approach her but she's shielded in a way that I've never encountered."

"We're not invincible Cole. But you're right it does take exceptional skill to stop us. Maybe I should check in on this woman."

"Yeah, I was about to suggest that."

Sameen got up and turned towards him.

"Take care of them will you." She said pointing at the ever growing number of souls behind her.

"Sure thing boss." Cole replied.

Sameen smiled.

"So where am I supposed to find this mysterious woman of yours?"

"She's staying at The Ritz."

"Fancy," Sameen remarked, "does she have a name?"

"Kara Stanton."

The look on Sameen's face went from one of calm to pure panic at the mention of that name and she promptly vanished.

 

***

 

It was close to two in the morning and the woman named Kara Stanton was sitting in the cafe at The Ritz. She wanted to have a decent meal before she went to bed and the food at that cafe had been appalling because in their never ending idiocy they'd decided to kill the cook too when they took over the place. Maybe they could have kept him around till he'd prepared meals for everyone. Besides Kara wasn't particularly sleepy. She was always like that on the nights before a big score.

So, she sat their eating her meal. She asked the waiter to pour her some more wine. But just as he was pouring the wine everything around her began to slow down, including the wine flowing from the bottle, as if someone had decided to put the entire world into slow motion except for her and then time finally froze.

Kara looked around, not too worried, wondering who it was, when Death came and sat down opposite her. She just stared back and grinned.

"Reaper, been a while. Haven't seen you since the Second World War. Those were fun times." Kara said cheerfully.

"Not really. I barely got any sleep and you didn't help with those creatures of yours."

"I needed some place to field test my inventions and what better time when everyone is busy killing each other. You can get away with a lot. Don't you remember the dark ages. Now those were the best of times. The things I came up with." Kara's eyes glazed over as she fondly remembered one of the darkest times in human history.

Sameen just shook her head in disbelief.

"So what brings you here Reaper, is it my time? Are you here to collect my immortal soul? Oh wait, last time I check I was little out of your jurisdiction." She said mockingly.

Death said nothing.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?" Kara asked, finally serious.

"What are you doing here?" Sameen asked.

Kara was surprised by the question.

"I'm here on work, what concern is it of yours?"

Sameen didn't know how to answer that question. She realized that she decided to confront the woman without thinking things through. But Kara was far from stupid.

"Wait, it does concern you, doesn't it. The rumors I've been hearing about you being reprimanded were true. They said it was because of a woman. I just never thought it would be this one." Kara said gleefully.

Sameen was starting to look a little embarrassed.

"You know when I was in her apartment, I sensed your presence everywhere. At first I thought it was because of all the people who had died in that apartment complex but now I know that wasn't the only reason was it?"

"If you so much as hurt a hair on that crazy psychotic head of hers..." Sameen started.

"You'll what, reaper. Kill me. You're all bark, no bite. Your lot have a strict policy of non interference with the matters of the living or the dead. Not that you've been following that policy very strictly but even you won't go that far. Let's face it, you're nothing more than a glorified delivery guy."

Sameen's eyes flashed with rage and Kara felt an invisible hand grab her throat.

"Wow, she really must be special if you're willing to throw away all of humanity for her."

Sameen continued squeezing for a while until, sadly, good sense prevailed and she slowly loosened her grip. The woman was right, she had a greater responsibility.

Kara rubbed her throat and stared back at Death. She was furious Kara was ready to unleash a spell in retaliation, when she saw the the sadness and helplessness in Death's face and stopped.

"Sameen, you can't blame me or anyone else for this. This is all your girlfriend's doing. If she hadn't put up the kind of display she did, it wouldn't have attracted my employer's attention. She's made her bed now it's her time to lay in it." Kara said softly.

Sameen sighed and got up to leave.

"Just make sure she doesn't suffer too much."

"I'll do my best."

Sameen nodded and left. Time started again and Kara went back to finishing her meal but she just wasn't feeling hungry anymore.

 

***

 

Cole had returned from his latest trip to the other side, ferrying the souls, and was once again back on the same hilltop waiting for his boss to return, which she did shortly and she looked troubled.

"How did it go, boss?" Cole asked apprehensively.

Sameen remained silent.

"That bad, huh. So what's the plan?"

"Maybe you should go talk to Root." Sameen said.

"And tell her what?"

"Run, if possible."

"Can't you do anything, boss?" Cole asked even though he knew her answer.

"Not any more Cole. The woman was right, I have been given a great responsibility and I can't throw it away for one person, no matter how much I love her. Oh, and tell her I said hi."

 

 

***

 

Root had just gotten back to the library. Harold had come in with her and then gone into the basement. She figured he had gone to meet Carl, tell him about the latest developments. She told him that she would drop by later to talk to him as well. But right now she just wanted to get some shut eye, build up her energy for whatever shit storm she would have to face tomorrow.

She climbed up the stairs and opened the door and found someone waiting in her room by the window. It was Cole.

"Cole, what are you doing here? How's Sameen, is she alright?" she asked excitedly. Hoping he had some news from Sameen.

"She's okay. She says Hi."

"Ah, anything else."

"Yeah, but you won't like what I have to tell you."

"More bad news?" Root asked.

"Yeah." Cole shrugged.

"Why am I not surprised, it's like nature's course correcting. I was really happy for a while and now I can't seem to catch a break," Root just lowered her head in despair, "well, hit me with it."

"It's the gangs. They have an expert with them."

"An expert?" Root looked confused.

"An expert in the dark arts. Magic."

"Is he the one, who's been blocking me?"

"She," Cole corrected her, "and yes. She's the one who's helping the gangs hide Hannah and Gen."

"How bad is she? Can I take her?" Root asked.

"I really doubt it."

"And what does Sameen say?"

"She says run, if that's an option."

"Wow, that bad, huh."

"Pretty much. Are you planning to run?" Cole asked, hoping she would say yes.

"I can't, not anymore. I have to make things right."

"I understand. So what is your plan, now that you don't have your little friends to help you?"

"I have other friends, Cole. I called the cops." Root grinned.

"What, but you'll get arrested. They'll hang you for everything you've done or whatever they do in this country to execute people."

"That's the plan. I make sure Hannah and Gen are safe and then they can do whatever they want with me."

"You want to die?" now it was Cole's turn to be confused.

"Cole, if I can't be with here in this world, I'll be with her in the next. Simple."

"Root, it's not that simple. Once you die, you'll go to hell. You won't get to be with her after that." Cole was beginning to sound exasperated.

"That's fine, I'll figure a way out of hell." Root replied matter of factly.

Cole burst out laughing.

"You know, if anyone else would have said this I would have thought they'd gone mad. But given the fact that you're already mad, I think you just might be able to do it." Cole grinned.

Root burst out laughing with him.

* * *

 


	10. Execution

Some days you wake up thinking you're about to go to war. You think you'll wake up and find a large gathering outside your house. Everyone waiting to catch a glimpse of the warrior about to step into battle. Maybe there will be a giant procession or a parade in your honour. People will cheer you on as you drive down the street in your car. They will shower you with flowers, men and women will call out your name, fight through the crowd just to catch a glimpse of you.

Those were the thoughts with which Root woke up. But as she walked up to the window and looked out into the street, there were no cheering crowds or processions. She knew that reality rarely lived up to one's expectation, but for once she wished that wouldn't have been the case. She turned back from the window and got busy with her daily routine. It was going to be a long wait till Silva called her and gave her the location.

 

***

 

The precinct was overflowing with activity and no one was happy. Not only had the cops managed to lose someone in their protection but four police officers had been killed along the way and they did not like that. The gangs had definitely over reached. If they thought they could get away with something like that they were in for an extremely rude awakening. The police force was about to show them that this city was still theirs no matter what the criminals thought.  

They had drawn up a list of every single place that the gangs owned and raids had begun early in the morning. They were about to make the lives of criminals extremely difficult. But it was all being done in the hope that they would luck out and find Hannah Frey and her daughter and manage to catch the imposter who had killed their fellow officers.

As the cops went about doing this, Martine and Fusco were back in the Captain's office trying to explain to her the plan, hoping that she would agree to it since it was the only thing that seemed that it had any hope of succeeding. Since they knew that Dani Silva wouldn't be stupid enough to hide in any place that the gangs owned and even if she was, she was long gone by now.

"Explain this to me once again, when and why did she call you?" Captain Moreno asked.

"She called me on this phone I found in my letterbox last night after I got home. I was wondering who left it till it rang this morning. It was the Groves woman. She said she was willing to surrender." Martine lied. She has no intentions of explaining how they had actually met Root.

"And what's the catch? What does she want?"

"She said she would do it if we helped her get back Ms Frey and her daughter."

"And you believe her?"

"Not entirely, Captain. But what do we have to lose, ma'am? We are already scouring the city looking for them and the woman who killed those cops. If we find them before Ms Groves calls, great otherwise this isn't a bad idea. If it works out, we can finally dig ourselves out of the hole that we've found ourselves in. We rescue the mother and daughter, catch the serial killer and nab ourselves that cop killer and maybe if we're lucky catch some major gang members in the process. It's a win-win, Captain." Fusco said

Captain Moreno chuckled.

"If only life was that cut and dry, Detective Fusco. But I agree, it's worth a shot."

 

***

 

By late evening Root was in the subway meeting with Carl Elias. Elias had offered to provide her with men and weapons but she had refused. She told him that she'd already made a deal with the cops. But they were still concerned that she had decided not to carry any guns. Finally, Harold offered to let Mr. Reese come along with her as backup. He would stay hidden, offer her support in case things went south, which everyone was sure they would and Root agreed.

"I think that's about it. I'm as ready as I'm ever going to be." Root said as she slumped into the leather chair in the fugitive gangster's makeshift study.

"I wonder when that bitch will call. I'm starting to get jumpy." she added.

"She'll wait till the last moment so you don't get time to prepare. There very well could be a chance that you could end up alone at the location with no backup."

"I know and that's what's got me worried. I mean there has to be a way to find out where they are." Root wondered.

"Is there no way you can track them? I mean you have skills that go well beyond anything humanly possible."

"That's the thing, they have someone with them who's better than me. So they are practically invisible to me and my friends."

"Besides I would assume they must be constantly moving. Your Detective Silva has brought down way too much heat on every criminal in the city. They won't be able to stay in any one place for too long. Maybe that's why you can't find them. Nothing to lock onto." Carl said.

"Yeah."

"Yes, but they will have to stop eventually, to make the trade. They'll also have to secure the place." Harold interjected.

"Absolutely." Carl said.

"I guess, but what are you getting at, Harold?" Root asked. She could see that all of this was leading somewhere.

"I was just wondering, maybe the fact that you can't see them is the way you can find them."

"What?"

"What happens when you try to find them? Is it like you can't see them because they are invisible or is it just because everything is dark."

"It's because everything is dark." Root replied slowly.

"So what if you shine a light on everything..."Harold started.

"Then whichever place doesn't shine is where they'll be." Root finally caught on.

"Exactly, if that's even possible. Not that I understand anything that you do, except on a theoretical level."

"No, no, no, you're absolutely right. It's definitely possible. I don't know why I didn't think about it before."

"Alright, so we have a plan. The minute you get the call you'll have to start your hunt. Get the cops to the location before you get there. Can you do that?" Carl asked hopefully.

"Yeah, absolutely." Root replied..

"Good. Now Harold said you wanted to talk to me. What can I do for you, Ms. Groves?"

Root thought about it for a moment before she replied.

"I need the location of every single place that the Brotherhood and Russians own."

"Why?" Carl was surprised by the request.

"I was just thinking I would leave them a nice little goodbye present."

"I don't think that's necessary, Ms. Groves. You've already caused them enough damage. I'm sure my guys can handle what's left of them."

"It's not for you Carl, this is purely for me. Look, I understand that all of this mess is of my doing. Hannah and Gen getting into trouble, that's on me too and I'm willing to pay the price for it but that doesn't mean I have to take the high road. I can be petty and vengeful." Root said grinning like a maniac.

Carl and Harold silently stared at each other and Carl just shrugged, then he went over to his desk and wrote down a small list of addresses and handed them to Root.

"Thanks for this and also thank you for everything you've done. I think I know why you did it and I'm sorry I couldn't be of much use to you as an asset but after tonight I don't think you'll have to worry about you rivals."

"You've done more than enough Ms. Groves and for no compensation. I wish we could have met under better circumstances, I'm sure we could have a very fruitful relationship. But even as it stands it was really interesting knowing you." Carl replied.

"Likewise and I don't think we'll meet again Carl, so this is goodbye." Root said and held out her hand.

"Don't be so sure Ms. Groves, life's full of surprises. So let's just say until we see each other again."

Carl smiled and shook her hand.

 

***

 

Root spent the rest of the time preparing to the best of her abilities. She went back to the library going through the books that Harold had in the hope that she could figure out a way to break whatever spell was cloaking Hannah and Gen but she couldn't find anything. Or at least nothing that she could master in whatever little bit of time she had left. She did find out however that shield could be broken if enough force was applied. Maybe she could use that.

But after all was said and done, all preparations made there was nothing left to do but wait. All across the city, the people involved, waited for the ball the drop.

Waited for that one phone call.

Root waited for Silva's call. Martine and Fusco waited for Root's  and Lambert waited for Martine to call so he could be a part of it too, but at least he was a little more proactive because he finally got tired of waiting. It was past eleven in the night when he got to the precinct and he found the two detectives sitting around, frustrated and waiting for that all important call. The rest of the cops were still out scouring the city for any trace of the major gang members or the cartel assassin who had posed as Detective Silva but so far luck hadn't been on their side.

"Jeremy, what are you doing here?" Martine asked, genuinely surprised to see him there.

"Did you really think I would sit this one out? I.A. is as responsible for this mess as everyone else. We got made a fool off too. I'd really like to return that favour."

"Can't argue with that. You're more than welcome to join us and get bored. I'm beginning to think this might not happen after all." Fusco said.

"Yeah well, with these things you gotta have patience."

"I know, but that doesn't make it any less boring." Fusco moaned.

But their life was about to a lot more exciting than they'd bargained for.

Less than fifteen minutes later the phone rang.

It was lying on their desk. Martine and Fusco both reached for it, Martine reached it first.

"Yes" she asked.

"We're on." It was Root on the other end, "I just got the call. I'm heading out now. That bitch told me she'll tell me the location once I'm on my way. I just called to tell you, you should get your people ready."

"Got it. When should I expect your call?"

"Soon." Root replied and she cut the phone.

Martine turned around and found everyone in the precinct, including the captain, were staring at her with great expectations.

"It's a go. She'll call in a few minutes and give the location. We should get ready."

Everyone else scrambled. Martine made another call and then turned towards the Captain.

"We have a trace on the cell phone, captain. If nothing else works out at least we'll have her before the night is out." Martine said.

Captain Moreno shook her head in agreement.

 

***

 

Root put the phone down and turned around to face a small shadow creature standing behind her.

"You know what to do, right?" she asked the creature.

The creature bared its numerous teeth in a frighteningly wide grin and nodded.

As she made her way down she found Reese waiting for her outside the library but he had his own car. His instructions were to follow Root and not be seen. If he was to get arrested the attention would fall on Harold and Elias didn't want that.

"Time to go?" Reese asked.

"Yeah." Root replied and they both got in their respective cars and drove off into the night.

 

***

 

Root hadn't given Martine the location that Silva had given to her. Elias had told her that there was a very good chance that the first location that Silva would give her would be a decoy. Just to check if she was being followed. She would probably have to go through a bunch of location before she actually got to the real one and Elias was correct.

Before she could get to the first location Silva called her again. Root had stopped at a traffic light. Reese was a few cars behind her. Silva instructed her to jump the light and floor the accelerator. Root complied. Reese pretended to keep up as Silva instructed Root to make some complex maneuvers through the traffic. Eventually Reese slowed down a little and let Root get away. By then Root was quite sure that she was being watched, so she played along. She just hoped her little friends would find the actual location before she got there.

After a little more crazy driving Silva told Root to slow down and drive along for a while. Eventually Silva told Root to drive into a parking structure a few blocks ahead of her. She told her to go to the roof. Root followed her instructions and drove till the top of the four storey parking lot. Once she was on top Silva told her to get out.

"Alright, now what?" Root asked as she got out of the car.

"Can you see the blue minivan near the edge. Go to it. The keys are behind the driver side wheel."

Root walked up to it. She found the keys and opened the car and found a large plastic bag with some clothes in it.

"Who are these for?"

"For you," Silva replied, "Now strip."

For a second Root didn't know how to respond.

"Are you serious?"

"Do you sound like I'm joking. Either you strip or I put a bullet in the little girl's head and I'll send you a picture on your phone."

"Whoa, calm down there. No need to get over dramatic. I'll strip."

Root began to get into the car to change but Silva told her to stop.

"Outside so my guys can make sure you're not armed."

Root sighed and agreed. Thankfully she was hidden behind the minivan so no one on the roof could see her, not that there was anyone there, but the parking lot was surrounded by high rises and any one of those could be occupied by someone who could, at that very moment, be staring at a young woman getting naked on the roof of a parking lot. She wondered if some young punk might just end up recording this and put it on youtube or sell it to some local news channel. She could become famous. She could almost see the headline.

**"YOUNG WOMAN GETS NAKED ON A ROOF TOP"**

Root laughed at her own thoughts. Just when she had finished removing her undergarments she once again heard Silva's grating voice on the phone.

"Now turn around." Silva instructed.

"What?"

"Do a little spin. I want to get a better look at you."

Root did a three sixty standing in one place.

"Had anyone ever told you, you're a pervert." Root mocked her tormentor.

"Shut up and get dressed. Also throw the phone off the roof, there's another one in the car."

Root finally got dressed using the clothes in the plastic bag. It was a pair of sweatpants and jacket.

"You know you have very poor taste in clothes."

"Where you're going bitch, clothes are going to be the least of your worries. Now get in and drive."

Root promised herself once again, that she would kill Silva with her bare hands. But first she had to get to her. So she got into the car. Once she was in, she noticed that there was a small camera on the dashboard aimed at her. They were making absolutely sure that she couldn't pull any stunts. But then they didn't know what she was capable off.

She was about to start the car when she noticed a small movement under the passenger seat. It was one of her tiny little friends. She knew she couldn't talk so she communicated telepathically. The creature told her that they had found a place in the city they couldn't enter. A dark zone. It showed her the place in her mind. Root knew the place. She imagined a map in her mind and then showed it to the shadow. She told it to memorize it and then she told it to go and tell it to the two detectives.

"This should be fun" she said to herself as she imagined how the detectives were going to react when the phone on the passenger side seat rang.

"Oh, it's going to be a lot of fun." Silva said thinking she was talking to her and then she gave her new directions.

Root smiled and drove off.

 

***

 

It had been nearly twenty minutes since Root had called and everyone in the precinct was beginning to think if the second call was ever going to come. They were like an army itching to go into battle but with no idea where their enemy was and which direction and those directions came to them in the most unexpected way.

Fusco was sitting at his desk playing some game on his phone while Lambert and Martine chatted. They were telling each other stories from back when they were in Chicago. She seemed really into him. Fusco could see that Lambert was a good cop and he had had his reasons for joining Inter Affairs, but more than anything else he really wanted to do the right thing, which was why he was there even though he didn't need to be.

"How long do we wait?" Fusco asked.

Martine looked away from Lambert and was about to answer when the lights in the precinct began to flicker. The two detectives looked at each other, worried. They had seen this happen before in Root's apartment complex. They braced themselves for the worst. The flickering continued and the periods of darkness increased till a few seconds later the entire precinct was plunged into darkness.

They could hear chattering in the dark, like a language they couldn't comprehend. Somebody turned on their cell phone and in that light they could suddenly see hundreds of little creatures surrounding them. They were everywhere, on the floor, the walls, even on the roof, as if the laws of physics didn't apply to them. Then they began to hear scratches on the wall. Some of them decided to reach for their guns but they stopped because they didn't even know what exactly they were facing and none of the creature had even touched them so far. The scratching on the wall continued for a while and then suddenly the lights came back on and the creatures were gone. The precinct was once again populated by plain and simple human beings. They all squinted getting their eyes to get accustomed to the light when someone finally looked at the wall.

"What the fuck?" a cop said slowly.

The entire wall behind Detective Fusco's desk had this massive geometric pattern etched on it. Fusco turned around to see what everyone else was gawking at and nearly fell out of his chair.

"What the heck is that?" Fusco asked as he got out of his chair.

Martine and Lambert moved in a little closer and studied the pattern for a few seconds trying to make sense of it till the spotted a small "x" in the middle of the pattern.

"X marks the spot." they said in unison and then smiled.

"Don't you see it, it's a map, Fusco. That crazy bitch sent us a map." Martine said.

"Then what are we waiting for. Let's go, because if that's what I think it is, it's pretty far from here." Fusco replied as he picked up his gun and jacket and headed out with everyone else.

 

***

 

Root had driven for just few minutes since she got out of the parking structure when she got another call from Silva.

"Get to the Reddington container terminal. Come in through Gate 6." Silva said.

"Got it." Root replied and she sped up the car, smiling at the fact that the shadows had been right about the location and now she had the specifics.

 

***

 

The cops were also on their way to the exact same location. Martine and Fusco just hoped that they would reach there in time. That it wouldn't be too late and all they would find would be dead bodies. For once they they wanted to avoid that or at least make sure that the innocent ones didn't get killed.

They were speeding towards their location when Martine suddenly grabbed her head in pain. It was a good thing that she wasn't driving.

"What's wrong?" Fusco asked as Lambert, who was sitting in the back seat also leaned in to check on the detective.

"I don't know. It' like someone screaming inside my head. Ow." Martine replied.

But before she could say anything else, she heard a very clear voice in her head. It was Root.

"Can you hear me, detective." Root asked.

"What, who the fuck is this?" Martine spoke out loud.

"Who are you talking to?" Fusco asked.

"I don't know. Someone’s inside my head."

"What the fuck's going on here?" Fusco exclaimed.

"It's alright Detective, don't get worried. You're not going mad. It's me, Root. I don't have a lot of time. They are at the dockyard near Gate 6. Just make sure you don't use your sirens. Be as quiet as possible. If there's any change, I'll let you know." having said what she wanted to say Root retreated from Martine's mind.

Martine sighed as the pain receded.

"It was that crazy axe wielding psycho. She wanted to give us a message and apparently she can't use a phone."

"She was in your head?" Lambert asked with a look of disbelief on his face.

"Does that seem anymore stranger than the rest of the crazy shit we've been seeing these past few weeks. Why shouldn't she be able to communicate telepathically?" Martine said sarcastically.

"Why not." Lambert just shrugged and agreed. No one at the academy had told him that one day he'll be in an episode of The Twilight Zone. The only thing remaining was to run into a real life werewolf or a vampire and at that point he would probably just arrest it and put it in prison for creating a nuisance.

"I'm going to need some serious therapy once this is over." Fusco remarked.

"You and me both, buddy."

"Count me in on that as well. Maybe we can get a bulk discount." Lambert added.

They all laughed as they wondered how much more crazier this night was going to get.

 

***

 

For Root, she was hoping the night would get crazier. Till now it had been surprisingly tame,  except for her little involuntary exhibitionist session on top of that rooftop. But before long she reached her destination. She drove the car in through the gate that Silva had mentioned. That whole section of the terminal was deserted, she figured that the gangs had paid off whoever it was to ensure that they wouldn't be interrupted.

She drove in for a while. She was surrounded by massive stacks of shipping containers. As she drove in further she noticed a few armed men standing on top of the containers watching her drive by and she knew she was close. She could already sense the shield and a few minutes later she couldn't sense the shadow realm any more. Root was impressed. She had never imagined anyone could put up a shield of this size.

Soon she came to a crossing and she felt lost. Everything looked the same. Just massive stacks of containers in every direction. She looked up and saw one of the guys on top pointing towards the left and she followed his directions and turned. She had barely driven a hundred meters when she finally saw them in the distance.

There were at least a dozen vehicles parked in a circle and nearly thirty guys, all armed by what she could make out. She felt a tinge of pride that she should warrant such a reaction. They must be really scared of her. But this also made it that much more difficult to get Hannah and Gen out.

She finally got close enough to the large circle of black SUVs and she stopped. As she got out every single one of the gangsters turned and looked at her. She could see mixture of fear and disbelief in their eyes at the fact that this was the woman who had single handedly managed to almost destroy their organizations. She could also see that they were itching for payback.

As she walked on she saw a massive crane above her head. The spotlights from the crane illuminated a large circle and Root stepped into the middle of it. She felt like a lamb put up on display surrounded by wolves or at least that's what she believed the gangsters imagined she felt like, when in reality she was the wolf. But a pack of hyenas surrounding lone wolf could still kill it, no matter how strong the wolf was.

She finally stopped as she got to the middle of the circle trying to spot Hannah, when a woman got out of the SUV right in front of her. She couldn't make out the face clearly since the SUV was just outside the circle of light.

"Welcome Ms. Groves, what took you so long?" a woman's voice asked mockingly.

The woman finally stepped into the light. It was Dani Silva.

"Oh I was busy stripping on a roof top." Root replied.

A woman standing in the dark near Silva's car chuckled. Root assumed she was the specialist. She wondered how much trouble the woman would be, but that was for later. Right now she wanted to see how Hannah and Gen were.

"Alright, let's get this over with. Where are they?" Root asked

"Soon. Check her first, I just want to be sure." Silva ordered one of the goons.

As a Russian thug was about to step forward, Link, the current leader of The Brotherhood, motioned him to stop and he stepped forward himself.

"You don't seem so tough. How the fuck did you manage to kill Dominic?" Link asked as he patted her down.

"You'll find out soon enough." Root replied.

"You're cocky. I like that. My guys are going to have a lot of fun with you."

"Oh joy. Just out of curiosity, where do you plan to take me to have all this fun because I hope it isn't that laundromat or the three pubs that you own or that warehouse."

"What?" Link had a really confused look on his face.

"Oh I'm just saying that because I burnt them all to the ground including every other place that you and your Russian friends own, think of it as a final fuck you." Root grinned.

"Floyd, call Andre and check if she's bluffing." Link told his second in command.

Floyd dialled a number in her phone but no one answered. She tried a few more numbers. Eventually on her fourth call she got a response but the man on the other end was barely coherent. All she could make out was that some kind of wild animals had ripped through the place and had managed to start a fire in the process. She could hear sirens and screaming in the background.

She put down the phone and stared at her boss horrified. That pale psychotic bitch had destroyed everything they had worked for. It was all gone.

Link pulled out his gun and pointed it immediately at her head.

"You're dead, bitch." Link shouted and he was about to pull the trigger when a someone shot the gun out of his hand. He barely heard the gunshot. It was a sniper with a silenced rifle.

Link fell down on his knees clutching his bleeding hand, while everyone else immediately pulled out their guns and waved them around trying to spot the shooter. Silva pulled out her gun aimed it at Root.

"Did you really think I wouldn't have backup." Root said.

"Well, fuck this." Silva said. She pulled Hannah out of the car by her hair and put the gun to her head as she pushed her too he knees. Hannah had a mouth gagged but Root could see the terror in her eyes.

"You do that and we all die, because my friend's carrying a lot more than just a rifle," Root bluffed, "Why don't we all just calm down and make the exchange, then you can do whatever you want with me. So everyone, and I can't believe I'm saying this, take a deep breath and relax."

"I think that might not be a bad idea." The woman standing in the dark behind Silva remarked. Strangely that seemed to have an affect on Silva and she lowered her gun.

"Fine, have it your way. But once we're done, I'm going to skin you alive. I give you my word on that."

"Fair enough." Root agreed.

Silva dragged Hannah to her feet and pushed her towards Root. Hannah tried to turn around and Root could see that she wanted to go back to Gen.

"Walk." Silva said as she pushed her ahead again with the barrel of her gun.

"Hannah, it's OK, I'll make sure Gen is safe. Just come to me."

As Hannah walked towards Root she could see the anger in her friend's eyes. She blamed her for all of this and she was justified in doing that. She finally reached her and Root got behind her and untied her arms.

Hannah opened her mouth to speak but Root stopped her.

"No need to say anything. I know this is all my doing and that's why I'm here to make it right. For now just walk towards my car." root said.

Root could see that she was reluctant to leave.

"I'm not going anywhere till Gen is here." She said defiantly.

"I know it's difficult but just trust one last time. I promise I'll get Gen back if it's the last thing I do, now go. I won't be able to protect you and Gen at the same time."

"Just make sure Gen is safe, beyond that I don't care." Hannah said and then she turned and began to walk towards Root's car.

Root watched Hannah leave the circle of SUVs and then she turned around.

"Now let the girl go and you can have me."

"How about you walk to me first and then I'll let her go."

"I want to see her first."

Silva agreed and dragged Gen out of the car. The girl tried to kick her in the shin. Silva slapped her across the face so hard Gen fell to the hard concrete floor.

"Try that again and I will put a bullet in that pretty little head of yours. Understand?"

Root could see Gen was bleeding from a cut on her lips. If only she had access to the shadow realm she would have enjoyed watching Silva get ripped to shreds but she would just have to do it herself. But at that moment she managed to control her temper. The only thing that mattered was getting her friend's daughter to safety.

"Here's the little brat, now walk."

Root nodded and began to walk towards Silva really slowly. After a few steps she stopped and bent down to tie her shoelaces. Even if she didn't have her little friends to help her she had others they just needed a little more time.

They weren't far now.

"What the fuck you doing, bitch?" Silva shouted.

"Hey I can't help it if you got me shoes that are too big for me."

Root pretended to tie her shoelaces but she began to feel the eyes of the other woman boring into her skull and she was trying her level best to keep her out.

"Why are you sweating so much, Ms. Groves." The woman asked.

"Can't you see I'm terrified." Root joked while still pretending to tie her laces.

"I don't think so." Kara said and she made a small gesture in the air.

Root felt like she'd been hit by a truck. The spell that she'd been holding broke and all of a sudden the sounds and sights of the outside world returned. No one had noticed that ever since Root had entered the circle things had been extremely quiet and dark on the outside. That was because she'd cloaked the outside world so the cops could arrive without detection and she had managed to do it successfully. The cops had not only arrived but were hardly twenty meters away. But even they felt the cloak being lifted as the gangsters finally spotted them.

"Police." screamed one of the guys and everyone opened fire.

Root was still kneeling on the ground pretending to tie her shoelaces. She turned around and reached into her own shadow and pulled out two guns and shot at Silva. But the assassin proved to be too fast for her. Silva jumped behind the SUV and managed to drag Gen with her who was trying to make a run for it. Root quickly glanced back and saw that Hannah had safely reached the cops who were holding her, but she was trying to break free to get to her daughter.

In the meantime Reese was happily picking off thugs from his perch on top of the containers. Martine reached till Root to provide her with backup. Root had managed to hide behind one of the SUVs towards her left. It was about two cars away from Silva's car. She glanced at it and saw the mysterious expert, that Silva had hired, calmly disappear. Then Root heard someone behind her. She turned around and was about to shoot when she saw it was Hannah.

"I need to get to Gen." she announced.

Root knew there was no way to stop her from doing that. But she couldn't find a way through the hail of gunfire to get to Gen and even though Kara Stanton was gone, the shield blocking the shadow realm was still in place so Root only had her guns and her skills to rely on. The only was she had been able to hide her guns was by building a small pocket shadow realm in her own shadow, so even if she couldn't access the actual realm she could hide her guns in it.

She looked out from behind the car trying to spot Silva, when she saw that she was trying to start her SUV and get away. Root put in a shots into the front of the car to make sure that that didn't happen. Silva jumped out and she was looking to run the other direction away from the cops when she saw that there were cops approaching from the other side too. Fusco and Lambert were with that team. Silva knew she was trapped. There were containers on either sides and cops n the front and back. There was no way out. But Silva had a few tricks up her sleeve.

As the cops were approaching they passed through two SUVs that had been parked at a slight distance from the circle. Silva got into her car, took out a small remote and pressed the button. The two cars were rigged to blow. The explosion threw everyone to the ground including the people on the other side of Silva's car. The windows on almost every car exploded and everyone got showered with glass. This was Silva's opportunity to escape and she was taking the little girl with her as insurance, someone she could use as leverage. She got out of the car dragging Gen with her while everyone else was still recovering from the twin explosions.

Root saw Silva get out of the car, she turned around to tell Hannah to stay in her place but Hannah was lying on the floor unconscious. The explosion had thrown her back and she had hit her head on the car behind them. Till then a few other cops had caught up to them. Martine instructed them to keep an eye on Hannah while she and Root decided to go after Silva.

"Once we get her, you're under arrest." she said as they ran towards Silva's car dodging bullets.

"Absolutely." Root replied with a grin on her face.

Silva till then had managed to cross the two burning SUVs and was shooting anyone that got in her way, cops and robbers. At that point she didn't care. They were all obstacles and given that Root had destroyed the Russian and The Brotherhood's empires they were no longer of any use to her masters south of the border either.

Root and Martine got till Silva's SUV and ride to catch a glimpse of the insane assassin and got a hail a of bullets in return. Root did manage to see the Silva had knocked Gen unconscious and had put her over her shoulder. She was much stronger than she looked. She also had two Uzis which she was using to their fullest extent.

"That bitch is insane." Martine commented as she and Root returned fire.

"I know, and here I thought I was the crazy one."

But while Silva was distracted shooting at Root, she failed to notice Lambert and Fusco hiding behind one of the burning SUVs. They both opened fire. Lambert managed to hit her in the right shoulder but Silva barely flinched. She immediately returned fire. Martine took the opportunity and jumped out from behind the car and shot at Silva who sprayed bullets in a wide arc as she turned towards Martine. She managed to shoot Lambert in the leg, who fell to the ground and Fusco took a bullet in his shoulder. Root pushed Martine out of the way and ended up taking multiple hits in her stomach and left shoulder. Thankfully the shadow world had made her strong enough that she could take that much damage and still function but barely.

Then she got lucky. Silva was out of bullets and she had nowhere to hide to reload. Root stepped forward with her guns aimed squarely at Silva's head. Martine had also gotten up and was doing the same.

"You're empty." Root said as she walked closer to Silva.

Silva dropped the guns but Root noticed that she was still holding something in her hand. It was the remote trigger.

"Not yet." Silva replied as she pressed the button.

Silva had placed charges on the crane above and the explosion cause the entire horizontal arm to detach and it came crashing down behind Root crushing everything and everyone it fell on. The impact of the crane hitting the ground was enough to throw everybody off their feet. It was all the distraction Silva needed. The fallen crane made a temporary barrier between her and everyone else, with Root being the only one on this side.

By the time Root stood up Silva was already running. Root was about to go after her when she heard a voice coming from behind her. It was Martine. She was trapped under the rubble. Root had a decision to make. If she left Martine and went after Silva and Gen there was a good chance Martine might die under the burning rubble and in her present condition Root didn't know if she could go up against Silva. She took a deep breath and decided to stay and help Martine.

Root turned around, put her hands under the massive metal girder that was holding down Martine and began to lift it up. She knew she could do it but it definitely wasn't good for the bullet wounds she had. As she started to lift it she felt her her clothes getting wet as blood began to pour through her wounds and she could feel her muscles beginning to tear apart from the strain.

"I won't be able to hold this for too long. So get out the second you can."

Martine was too stunned to reply. She couldn't believe that this woman was lifting something that probably weighed a few tons. She nodded and agreed. Root finally managed to lift it up high enough and Martine got enough room to escape.

Root let it fall down once Martine was out. She knew she was spent. Still she took a deep breath and decided to go after Silva. She needed to get Gen back, but it was too late. The rest of the cops had managed to crossover and she was surrounded. Root gave up. She raised her hands and dropped to the ground on her knees.

"Ms. Groves, you're under arrest." Captain Moreno said as she stepped forward and pointed a gun at Root's head. With Captain Moreno reciting Root her rights the cops put the handcuffs on her.

Just before Root passed out from the bullet wounds and the blood loss, a single thought crossed her mind,

_'This did not go as planned.'_


	11. The Beginning of the End

There was a beautiful cottage by the sea with a white picket fence and a small pathway that led to the beach. It was late evening and a tall woman walked up to the house. She wore an elegant black evening suit and her long wavy brunette hair were draped over her shoulder. She was carrying a bottle of champagne to give to the host.

She didn't exactly remember which way she'd come or how exactly she'd ended up on the beach but she felt as if she was going to be late for the party so she gathered up some pace as she made her way up pathway. She walked up the porch and rang the bell. Sameen answered the door. She looked positively radiant in a beautiful white dress.

"Root, what took you so long? Everyone's been waiting for you for ages. Come in, come in." Sameen said excitedly.

Sameen leaned in and quickly kissed root, who handed her the bottle of champagne and stepped into the warmly lit house. The aroma of a delicious meal being prepared immediately hit her and she found herself getting hungry. Sameen had an apron tied around her waist. She had been busy cooking and by the wonderful aroma she seemed to be an exceptional cook.

Sameen disappeared into the kitchen as Root made her way into the living room. She was surprised to find the room filled with guests. She looked out of the window and saw some of them standing outside on the porch. She wondered how she had missed them walking in. Some of them came in closer and spoke to her. Root couldn't make out their faces, they all seemed particularly nondescript and blurry. But she didn't care, she was just happy that Sameen was here. She couldn't remember the last time they had been together in this house, if ever.

Soon, Sameen came out of the kitchen and called everyone into the dining area. Root stepped in as well and saw a large table with an exquisite meal laid out on it. She also noticed the walls had a lot of photographs on them. They seemed a little dark for her to make out. She told herself she would look at them later because at that given moment, she was famished.

Halfway through her meal, Root got curious and asked Sameen, "Sameen, why are having this party?"

Sameen looked at her in surprise.

"How can you forget, silly? We're here celebrating your artwork. They're all here because today we're unveiling your final piece."

At that moment everyone turned around and applauded her.

"But who are they?" Root leaned in and whispered into Sameen's ear.

Sameen turned around and just stared at her.

"Are you alright, honey? Did you hit your head on the way in. How can you forget them?"

Root just looked back at her and shrugged. For the life of her she couldn't recall any of these people.

"They are you biggest fans, Root. They are your subjects. They died for you. They died so your art could live."

Root looked back at the crowd and saw that she recognized each and every one of them. They were her victims. She'd just never realized that there had been so many.  As she started to look around she saw that every single painting on the wall depicted every single one of her kills in excruciating detail. Then one by one they all stepped forward and congratulated her. They thanked her for making them part of her great art.

They all bore the wounds she'd given them. Some had stab wounds, some had their necks slit open, some had had their heads split open and she could see their brains and they were all still bleeding. There were even those that had been killed by the shadow creatures. They bore deep gashes across their faces, arms and legs. A lot of them even had limbs missing. But they all came forward, even if they had to crawl across the floor to reach her. Soon she found herself surrounded by her work. They shook her hand, they hugged her, they smiled at her though missing teeth and melted faces. Root soon found herself soaked in blood. She began to back off in horror.

"Make them go away, please. I never wanted any of this, Sameen. I just wanted to be with you. " Root pleaded.

Root turned towards Sameen and saw that she had transformed into her natural form. The tall hooded figure, with its face perpetually cloaked in shadow, looked down at her and smiled.

"And I am here. But you chose this path Root. This is your life's work. You can't run away from it. But forget about them for now. Aren't you going to show us your new work. That's why we're all here."

Death took her by her hand and led her towards a large framed canvas. It was placed on a small stage and was covered by a red satin cloth. As they walked towards it, the entire crowd followed her, still congratulating her and touching her. No matter how much she tried she couldn't get rid of them. She looked around and saw that even the painting and the walls had started to bleed. Pretty soon even the carpeted floor was soaked in blood. She wanted to run away but she couldn't get free off Death's grip who inexorably led her to that veiled painting. Root was beginning to dread what would be underneath that. But they reached it soon enough and whether she liked it or not she was about to find out.

"Go on, show us what you've been up to." Death said as it pushed Root towards the painting.

Root walked up to it slowly, all the time looking for a way to escape but there was no way out. She was surrounded on all sides by every single dark and grotesque deed of her life. She finally stepped up on the stage, took a deep breath and removed the cloth.

Everybody clapped.

"This is a masterpiece Root. I don't think you can ever top this. I am so proud of you." Death leaned in and whispered in Root's ear.

Root was still reluctant to look at the painting but she finally got off the canvas and turned around to look at it.

It was a portrait of Gen.

She had a radiant smile on her face and she was wearing a yellow dress that matched her golden hair. There was someone standing behind her, but that person was too tall to fit in the frame. The person standing behind Gen had one hand on her shoulder and the other one held a knife across her throat which had been slit open. The blood from the open wound was pouring down her throat turning her yellow dress crimson, but Gen kept smiling that bright radiant smile that with each passing moment grew wider and eerie.

Then someone touched her on her shoulder. Root turned around.

It was Hannah.

She immediately shook Root's hand.

"I just wanted to say thanks. Gen said she's sorry she couldn't be here but she's so proud to be part of your gallery."

"I'm sorry I couldn't save her. I tried my best." Root said, tears flowing down her cheeks.

"Oh, that's alright Root. It's not like I ever thought you could, but this, " Hannah said pointing at the canvas, "this is a real honour. Have you decided what you're going to call it?"

"I haven't decided yet. I just need to think about it a while." Root said as she started to back away when Gen spoke to her from the painting.

"Don't be like that. You have to give me a name. Don't you love me anymore." As she spoke more blood began to pour out of the wound and was now pouring out of the painting.

Root turned around tried to run but she was immediately stopped by the horde of her victims standing behind her. They all said the same thing.

"You can abandon her like that. You have to name her."

"Don't leave me, Root. Don't leave me again"

Root just wanted to get out of the house but by now there was so much blood pouring from the paintings that it had turned the room into a shallow pool and Root was finding it difficult to move, besides her fans, her subjects weren't ready to let her go. They kept clawing at her. Holding her back, wanting her attention, slowing down her progress. Root looked towards Sameen, eight feet tall and holding a scythe, she just stood in the corner and smiled.

Soon arms began to reach out from the pool of blood and began to drag her under. They all said the same thing

"Don't leave us. We love you."

All this time Gen kept screaming from the painting.

"Don't leave me, Root. Don't leave me."

Root began to drown in the sea of blood and limbs surrounding her and she tried to scream but the ocean of blood overwhelmed her.

 

* * *

 

And then she woke up.

She was sweating and her heart was beating so fast she thought it would tear out of her chest. It took her a few minutes to calm down and realise where she was. She looked around and saw that she was in private room in some hospital. She was lying on the bed dressed in a hospital gown. She tried to get up but two things stopped her. The excruciating pain in her abdominal region and the fact that she was handcuffed to the bed frame.

Root chuckled at seeing the handcuffs. She thought after seeing her in action the cops would at least know better than to think that a pair of handcuffs wouldn't be enough to hold her. She pulled at them in an effort to break them but they wouldn't budge. She tried a few times but eventually her wounded body started to protest under the strain and she gave up. She tried to and failed to reach the shadow realm as well. Something or someone was definitely blocking her. She decided to do it the old-fashioned way.

"Hey, is anybody there?" Root yelled out.

There was no response. The window looking out into the hospital corridor was covered with blinds but she could see someone sitting on the other side. She tried again.

"Hello" she shouted.

This time there was movement on the other side of the blinds. She saw someone stumble out of a chair. A moment later she heard someone unlocking the hospital room door and a uniformed police officer stepped in. He was an older man, slightly overweight and balding.

"Ah, you're finally awake princess." The cop said.

"What's going on, where am I?" Root asked.

"Where do you think, you're in the hospital. Been here a few days now. But it's a good thing you're awake because a lot of people want to talk to you."

"Who?" Root asked.

"Well, Detective Martine to begin with. She's been dropping by every couple of hours asking if you're up. In fact she was here sometime back. I'll go check if she's still around. Don't you go anywhere now." The cop left laughing at his own joke.

Root decided to listen to him and stuck around, not that she had much of a choice in the matter. She decided to sit up in her bed but it proved to be far more difficult than she had anticipated. She had no idea how badly wounded she was but it seemed that it was definitely worse than falling from the fourth floor window and landing on a dumpster.

Root heard some kind of a commotion outside her room. She could see a lot of people gathering outside. There were sounds of heated arguments. She tried to make out what they were saying but eventually went back to trying to sit up.

"What are you trying to do?"

Root turned to see who it was as she struggled to get up. The handcuffs weren't helping either. It was Martine.

"I'm trying to sit up. You think you could give me a hand?" Root asked as she winced in pain as the stitches on the side of her stomach began to pull. She wondered why she hadn't healed as yet like she had last time.

Martine walked up and used the remote to angle the back bed and make it more vertical and then she propped the cushion behind her. Root struggled to sit upright but finally managed it. She leaned back into the cushion and sighed with relief. She never thought she would be happy to have accomplished something this simple as if it were a great achievement. But in her present state it was.

"You shouldn't move around too much. The doctors dug twelve bullets out of you. They are all amazed that you're still alive given how badly damaged your insides were."

"It's not the first time I've been told that. It seems everyone keeps wondering how I keep surviving. I guess I'm just lucky."

"I think it's more than that. But if it's just luck then remember that sooner or later everyone's luck runs out."

Root just shrugged and nodded in reply as she remembered her dream.

"Where's Gen? Did you manage to get Silva?" Root asked.

Martine just shook her head silently.

"Then we need to go get her. Just let me go and I'll  bring her back. I won't fail again." Root once again tried to break herself free from her restraints.

Martine gently pushed her down.

"Ms. Groves, I think we can all agree that you've already done enough. Actually if it wasn't for you none of this would have ever happened."

"You think I don't know that. But I know I can bring her back, just open these handcuffs and I'll figure a way out of the hospital."

Martine just shook her head.

"Ms. Groves, trust me when I say this, I am grateful that you've saved my life twice now, but you seem to be under the delusion that you're some kind of a hero in this wild adventure of yours. You're nothing of the sort. You are a psychotic serial killer and I am a Detective with the police department. Right now we're not even sure how many you've killed and it doesn't matter if they were all criminals, they were still human beings. So the only place you're going is prison and if you try to escape, I'm quite sure the men and woman positioned outside this room will very gladly shoot you."

"But what about Gen and Silva?" Root sounded despondent.

"That's our job. We've got the entire city locked down, she won't be able hide for long now. And I would suggest not trying to escape, the cops outside are not in a very forgiving mood at the moment."

"What did I do, well besides all the killing. As far as I know I haven't killed any cops."

"Oh boy, I forgot you don't know any of this. You passed out after they put the cuffs on you back at the docks, but as you fell almost fifteen others collapsed along with you and they haven't woken up since then. That includes Hannah Frey, Detective Fusco and Lambert. It's got the doctors completely baffled."

"What? But I didn't have anything to do with that."

"I know that. I think you chose your targets very specifically because you didn't want to harm anyone innocent, at least according to you. But I don't think anyone else cares about that. They all think you've put some kind of a voodoo spell on everyone.

"I don't even know voodoo."

"Honestly, I don't know what you know or don't know. But I do believe that this mysterious sleep that everyone's in, it's definitely got something to do with you. Something to do with all that weird shit you're involved with. So I suggest you better figure it out quick, otherwise you're going to have a very hard time in custody and in prison."

Martine got up and left, leaving behind a confused Root wondering what the heck was going on.

 

Root sat in her bed till the evening turned to night, thinking about how badly things had turned out and desperately trying to figure a way out of her situation. She needed to get out and find Silva and Gen but she was a lot weaker than she had expected and she still couldn't break the handcuffs or do any kind of magic. Something was blocking her. But as the night fell she began to feel a presence in the room. There was someone else in there with her.

"I know you're here. I can sense you. Are you going to talk or just watch me like a pervert." Root said.

She heard a laugh coming from the chair near the window which was encased in darkness. Then a face leaned forward and was lit by the streetlight streaming in through the window. It was a woman.

"It's you. You were there that night with Silva, standing in the shadows."

"Yes. The name's Kara Stanton. At your service." The woman replied.

"Are you the reason why I can't break these handcuffs? You're shielding me, aren't you?" Root asked.

"Yup. I couldn't have you running away now could I, not before I had a word with you."

"What are you?"

"A little bit of this, a little bit of that. I'm the so called specialist the cartels sent to take care of you."

"Can't say you were very successful."

"Oh I don't know. Here you are all shot up with nowhere to run and no one coming to help you, especially not your girlfriend. I'd say I was plenty successful. Besides even her errand boy can't come to you anymore."

"What? Why can't Cole come to visit me? Root asked, surprised at this new piece of information.

"It seems that your girlfriend was using Cole to keep an eye on you, something that her superiors didn't entirely appreciate. Now they have some kind of restraining order on them, a shield of sorts. They can't come within a hundred meters of you."

Root remained silent till she realized what the woman had just said.

"Wait, you know Sameen?" Root asked in a hushed voice.

"Of course I do. You two are all the rage. Everyone in the supernatural world's been talking about the two of you. I think someone's even planning a stage play or something. Death and the Maiden. I'd go for it opening night."

"I didn't know I was that famous."

"Oh you are. It's not everyday that Death breaks the rules and then gets punished for it. She must really care about you."

"Yeah." Root replied sadly.

"Oh come on, don't be sad. You had your fun. From what I've heard you had a little too much fun and everybody know fun times don't last forever. It had to end sometime."

"Is that why you're here? To cheer me up, because I must say you're doing a pretty bad job of it."

Kara laughed.

"My dear girl, I have absolutely no interest whatsoever in your emotional state."

"Then why are you here?" Root was beginning to get annoyed with this woman who knew so much about her and Sameen.

"Well to be completely straightforward, I'm here for your immortal soul."

Root stared at Kara for a while wondering if the elegantly dressed woman was serious. She seemed serious enough.

"Are you the devil?" Root asked softly.

Kara laughed again.

"No. But I work for him."

"I thought you worked for the cartels."

"Oh, they were just an excuse to check you out. My master was quite impressed with the display you put up in your apartment complex. He wanted me to come and see if you'd like to come work for us once you're dead."

"For the Devil?"

"Yeah."

"And if I say no." Root asked tentatively.

"Have you forgotten about the others that still haven't woken up?" Kara said with a smile.

Root had indeed forgotten about them.

"That was you. Why?"

"It's called leverage, my dear and the longer you say no the worse their condition gets. In fact I can say with some confidence that they won't last for more than a couple of days."

Root knew she was trapped. She tried another tactic.

"And what makes you think I care?" Root asked.

"Because if you didn't then you wouldn't have come to rescue Hannah and Gen either. You may be a monster Root but you are a monster with a conscience."

Root sighed.

"Fine, you can have my soul. I pretty much figured I was going to hell when I died but didn't think I would get a job offer. So what is this job that you're offering?"

"We need you to work in the pits of hell. You know torture other souls and given your skills I'm sure you'll be good at it. Besides it's better than getting tortured for eternity."

"Sure, why not." Root replied nonchalantly. She didn't plan on staying in hell long enough anyways. Being in a position of some power just gave her a better opportunity to figure a way out.

"Now, now, before you go about saying yes all willy nilly let me explain the whole thing to you because the job does require you to fulfil certain conditions, well, one condition to be precise."

"What's that?" Root asked, wondering what horrific tortures might be in store for her in order for her to become a demon in hell.

"Oh don't worry it's nothing particularly painful. It's just that once you say yes to the offer, upon your death all your memories will be wiped clean."

"Why?"

"The thing is we just need your skills, we've no interest in your memories, thoughts or feelings. You see there was a time when the demons that worked the pit had all those things and after a while they began to get bored of their work. There was a revolt in hell. It was a nightmare. So after it was decided that any new souls that would be recruited would have their minds wiped clean. Just a mindless drone. You don't get bored of your work if you don't remember one day from the next. Good plan, isn't it?"

"Yeah, wonderful" Root agreed grudgingly.

"Glad you like it, it was my idea. The boss was quite proud of me. So what do you say, yes?"

Root sat there silently for a while. She saw all her plans crashing down around her. If she didn't have her memories she wouldn't be able to escape hell. Actually she probably wouldn't even remember herself. The silver lining of it was that if she didn't even remember herself then she wouldn't miss Sameen either.

"If I say yes, you'll release the other."

"Absolutely. I have no interest in them."

"Alright, I'm in," Root replied softly. "Anyways, once I die I'll be able to say goodbye to Sameen properly. Then you can do whatever you want with me."

Kara looked at her sympathetically.

"Yeah, that might not be possible." She said slowly.

"Why not? It's not as if you're wiping my memories right now."

"No, but once you say yes the memory wipe is automatic and it happens the moment you die. So..."

"So once I die I will have no memories of my life at all." Root asked as she realised the implications of what Kara had just said.

"None whatsoever."

"So when she comes to collect my soul I won't recognize Sameen."

Kara just shook her head.

"That's not fair. All I want is to say goodbye. Give me just a minute that's all I want."

"I am sorry but the system cannot be modified for anyone. It's just not possible."

Root didn't know what to say. This was it, the end of the line and as Detective Martine had said her luck had finally run out. After a while she resigned herself to her fate. But she still had one last thing to do. One final thing she had to make right.

"Alright, we have a deal. You can have me if you promise to let everyone else go but I also need you to do one more thing for me." Root said.

"Sure."

"I need you to set me loose so I can get Gen back. So I need you to tell me where Silva is because I'm sure you know where she's hiding."

"Done."

"So what do I have to do to make this official. Is there anything I have to sign in blood or something?"

Kara Stanton laughed again.

"Nothing so dramatic. A simple handshake would suffice."

Root thought about it for a second.

"If I do this, could you pass on a message to Sameen for me."

"Sure."

"Tell her..." Root paused, wondering what she could say, "tell her I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused her and I wish I was a better human being. Someone who was actually worthy of her but even so thank her for the giving me the best year of my life."

Kara smiled gently.

"I'll convey the message. Are you ready?" She asked.

Root nodded.

Kara got up and approached Root and stretched out her arm. Root stared at it tentatively, wondering what would happen once she shook it. As she was about to shake the woman's hand Root stopped.

"How do I know you'll keep your word?" Root asked as she stared at the outstretched hand suspiciously.

"You don't. But do you see any other way out?" Kara asked.

Root couldn't and so she took a deep breath and finally shook her hand. A cold wave passed through her body for a split second and then Kara let go of her hand.

"Congratulations. You're now a proud employee of hell." Kara said.

"Wonderful. Now it's your turn."

Kara closed her eyes for a second and then opened them.

"It's done. They'll start waking up soon."

"And where's Silva?"

Kara walked up to the window and looked outside. She moved her hand in an intricate pattern. Root knew she was casting some kind of a location spell but she'd never seen anything quite that complex.

It took a few minutes for Kara to finish her spell and then she turned around.

"Well, did you find her?" Root asked her anxiously.

"Yeah and let me say this, the cops of this city are spectacularly incompetent."

"Where is she?"

"She's near the Mexican border in a town called Columbus. She holed up in a little motel called The Road's End, which seems quite poetic, all things considered."

"Is Gen with her?"

"Yes. But she'll be having company soon. Some of her friends from across the border are coming to pick her up tomorrow night and once that happens I can't say what they'll do to little Gen. So you have a day to do what you have to do."

"I can get there in time." Root replied confidently.

"I'm sure you can. Oh, and I just remembered I gave her a little trinket,which means that you won't be able to do any kind of magic or summon anything within a fifty meter radius of her."

"You just remembered that did you, sure" Root said sarcastically.

Kara just smiled.

"Fine, I'll do it the old fashioned way. I'm OK with that. In fact I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm pretty great at killing people with or without magic."

Kara smiled and stared at Root for a while.

"You know something, I think you'll also be great at dying too."

A second later Kara Stanton disappeared leaving Root to wonder what exactly she meant by that. But before she could think about it too much her handcuffs opened on their own and fell to the ground. Root could also feel the shadow realm once again.

Kara Stanton had kept her word and Root was going to keep hers. She was going to go get Gen back.

 

Root got out of bed and put a small spell that would maintain the illusion of her still being in bed. It wouldn't last for long but it would be enough for her to get away. She knew there was no way she could get to Silva if she traveled in this realm. Her only option was to move through the shadow realm, distances there were much more fluid. It would still take her a few hours but that was better than days of travelling and trying to avoid the cops. Her only concern was the effect the realm would have on her. Most days she wasn't concerned with her state of mind but right now she needed her wits about her. Root knew she'd run out of options. She would just have to hope that she didn't come out on the other side a raving lunatic.

She got up and looked for something to wear but her room was empty. She summoned a couple of shadow creatures. She instructed the first one to get her something to wear. She projected a mental image of what she wanted into its mind. To the second she asked if it could go to the other rooms and see if the others had woken up. The two creatures agreed to fulfil her wishes.

As she waited, the shadow creature in the hospital began to project images of what it saw back to Root. It seemed that Kara Stanton had indeed kept her word. Everyone had started to wake up including Hannah and Detective Fusco. A few minutes later the second one returned with the clothes she had asked for.

She put on the pair of black jeans and t-shirt and tried looking for a weapon of some sort but came up empty. She figured she would find something once she came out at the other side. Root stood up and steadied herself. Her entire body was screaming in pain but she pushed through it and opened a portal into the shadow realm. As the hole grew bigger, the dark waters from the other side started to seep into the hospital room. Root could see creatures moving in it, reaching out to her. She looked around to see if she hadn't left anything behind but she realized that she had nothing left to leave behind.

Root smiled sadly and stepped into the welcoming darkness of the portal.

* * *

 


	12. The Road's End

Surrounded by the dry arid landscape of the US-Mexican border was the small town of Columbus, located in Luna County, New Mexico. It was a grand total of three square miles and had a population of barely two thousand. It was most famous for the raid by the Mexican revolutionary leader Pancho Villa in 1916. To Silva it was important because it was small enough to notice any major movement, like the sudden arrival of the FBI, and also because it was only four miles north of the border and she intended to cross it soon enough. Columbus had thus far been unaffected by the increasingly violent cross border drug trade. It was therefore considered a good place to cross by anyone who wasn't involved in it, mostly illegal immigrants and small time smugglers. But because of that lack of drug activity it also allowed Cartels to get their own people across unnoticed by the US or Mexican authorities.

Silva hadn't slept a lot in the past few days. One of their drug couriers had gotten her till the border of New Mexico in his private plane but had refused to cross the border. Since then she had traveled at night to avoid the cops, but she also had to carry the little girl around whom she had kept drugged throughout the journey. She was dreading crossing the border, wondering what her masters would do to her since her mission had been a disaster. Not only had she failed to kill the Groves woman but that night had also led to the almost complete obliteration of what was left of The Russians and The Brotherhood. It looked like her masters would have to go back to dealing with Elias once again. But that wasn't her concern.

It was five in the evening and she was staying in a small motel called The Road's End, just a mile from the border. She had managed to get a message out to her friends and they would be coming to pick her up, via one of the drug tunnels, sometime that night.

She stood in the bathroom staring at little Gen, who was lying in the bathtub drugged and handcuffed to the the bathtub railing. She was contemplating what to do with the little girl. She could just let her go, she really was of no use to her but she had held on to her purely out of spite. She had decided that if she couldn't kill Samantha Groves, she would take something precious from her.

 

* * *

 

Not too far from the motel, just a mile from the border, there stood a small barn a few miles off the road. It was once part of a farm that had been abandoned long ago. Over the years the natural elements had claimed the farm for themselves and now only the broken down structure of the barn remained. But recently the barn had found some new occupants.

Every few months the entrances to the drug tunnels had to be shifted. It was a painstaking and labour intensive process but the cartels didn't care about the first and had enough of the second. They had recently opened a new tunnel which ran all the way under the border and exited into the barn and that's where the team that was meant to pick up Silva had just entered from. One of their men on the US side had parked a car in there sometime the night before and they were putting their gear into the trunk when their luck ran out.

The phrase "shit happens" is universally true and applicable because it can happen to anybody for no particular reason. For the five men who had just exited the tunnel it just happened to be their turn. They had all thought of the days when they might have a run in with the cops or a rival cartel but they had never dreamed that they would run into a monster from some kind of a fevered dream.

The sun was getting closer to the horizon and the barn was nothing more than a criss cross pattern of light and shadows. The men had put their gear into the trunk and were ready to leave when one of them decided it was good time take a piss. He found a dark corner to do his thing but he never came back. The only sound his colleagues heard was a scream that got cut off midway. Being ex-military their years of training immediately kicked in. They went on full alert. They weren't expecting any kind of resistance or an attack. No one knew that they were going to be there. They picked up their weapons and their leader signalled one of them to go closer and inspect the location where their team mate had disappeared.

The man aimed his machine gun at the dark spot and turned on the torch which was attached to the top of the weapon. The torch illuminated the darkness but there was nothing to see except a small puddle of water. Their team member there was nowhere to be seen. The man moved closer to inspect when he noticed a ripple pass through the puddle of water which was surprising since there was no movement large enough to disturb the surface of the water. He got curious and moved closer.

As he got close he noticed the water seemed darker than it should be and it continued to ripple. He finally stood over it looking down at his own reflection. Something about that reflection seemed odd and yet attracted him. He poked at it with his rifle to see it ripple but it didn't disturb the surface as much at normally would. The liquid began to look more viscous than it seemed previously. He wanted to touch it but he resisted. But he still decided to kneel down and take one last look at this strange pool of black water. As he knelt down the face in the reflection began to smile at him. He smiled back and shouldered his weapon which was his first mistake. As he looked on he noticed that not only was the face in the reflection not his own but the water wasn't even reflecting the barn. He turned his head and looked up at the barn roof to confirm and that was his final mistake. An arm instantly shot out of the water and pulled him in by his leg. This time unlike his colleague he didn't even have a chance to scream. He was too surprised to do that.

For a second the remaining cartel mercenaries just stood there in shock. Their minds trying to process what exactly they'd just witness until their training finally kicked in and they opened fire at the puddle of water.

It was a good thing that the barn was quite far from the road so no one was attracted to the sound of gunfire and the subsequent screams that came from inside the barn. It all lasted for no more than a couple of minutes and then once again silence descended upon the barn.

A few minutes later the barn door opened and a monstrous form crawled out into the light of the dying sun. It lay there on the dry ground and began to vomit the black waters from the shadow world. As it did that it began to change and it transformed into a woman. The woman slowly regained control of her senses as the sunlight pushed the shadows away.

Root had stayed in the shadow realm a lot longer than she had planned. Since time moved differently there she guessed she might been there for days. She had been trying to find a way to undo what Kara Stanton had done to her. To find a cure. But she'd been unsuccessful, even the shadow creatures had been of no help. Whatever Kara had done was even beyond their knowledge but they had tried their best to help but after of multiple failed attempts at curing her, Root knew it was time to go. She knew that she was on a clock but Root also feared that if she had stayed in the darkness of the shadow realm any longer she would have completely lost herself to it and wouldn't have remembered that she still had a promise to keep.

The promise to reunite a daughter with her mother.

After she had succeeded in getting her shadow side under control she went back into the barn to get the car and figure out who were the  guys that she'd just massacred. For all she knew they could have been innocents, just some local smugglers or even illegal immigrants looking for a better life but it seemed that for once in what seemed like months Lady Luck had smiled on her. As she checked their pockets Root couldn't believe that she had opened the exit portal and stumbled upon the very crew that had been sent to retrieve Silva. At least now one thing was sure, that bitch wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

Root was about to get in the car when she noticed some movement to her left. She saw that by some miracle one of the men had managed to survive her attack. She stepped a little closer to him while trying to decide what she should do. The man was struggling to speak but kept coughing up blood. Root could see that his injuries were extensive, he wouldn't last for more than thirty minutes, an hour at the outset.

"What are you?" the man asked as Root stepped closer.

"It doesn't matter. What matters is that you won't be able to get to your friend or harm that little girl anymore." Root replied as she knelt down besides him.

"We had no interest in the girl. We were just here to get the woman. We were going to let the girl go." The man coughed up some more blood.

"Yeah, and I'm supposed to believe you."

"I'm telling you the truth. We don't work for the cartel, we're just hired help. The cartel wasn't happy with what Anna did back in the city, in fact they're furious."

"Anna, who's that?" Root interrupted.

"That's her real name and they want her dead. My boss sent us here to make sure that she was safe. They told us that we were to release whoever she had with her. But now it's too late."

"Why?"

"Because the cartel found out about our plan. They've sent a hit squad for her and us and they'll cross the border in less than half an hour. You just fucked over everyone, including that little girl you're here for. That hit squad will not only kill Anna but they definitely won't leave behind any witnesses. They'll probably wipe out the entire motel. Good luck saving anybody now, bitch." The man coughed one last time and passed out, never to wake up again.

Root knew he was telling the truth. Lady Luck hadn't been too kind on her after all. In fact she had just pulled an extremely cruel prank on her. Root got up and just stood in front of dead man trying to figure out her next move, when all of a sudden she began to kick the dead body and started screaming.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck. This isn't fair. Fuuuucccckkkk!!!" Root shouted as she continued kicking the man. All she wanted to do was to make things right. She didn't understand this. All that time when she was killing people she was absolutely happy but now when she was trying to do the right thing somehow she just couldn't catch a break. It took her a few minutes to calm down. Root resigned herself to the fact that she just wasn't going to catch a break but at least she knew which room Silva was holed up in. She had found the details in the pockets of one of the dead guys.

"I'm sorry." Root looked down and said to the dead guy before she walked back to the car.

She went through the weapons cache in the trunk and picked a couple of handguns for herself. She took the safety off the weapons. Her plan was simple. She was going to break into Silva's room, put a bullet in her head or two and get Gen back and if anything happened to her in the process then that was perfectly acceptable. She just didn't care anymore. She was tired, angry, lonely and frustrated by her continued failure. She just wanted it to be over. So, satisfied with her suicidal plan, Root got into her car and drove off in the direction of the motel.

 

* * *

 

Root was on a dirt road that would eventually connect to the border highway. There was nothing on either side but dry desolation. It accurately mimicked how Root felt on the inside. She began to speed up because she didn't know how much time she had before the cartel hit squad would arrive but then something strange began to happen.

She began to notice a strange discolouration in the sky towards the right. It looked like an angry red welt, as if someone was trying to rip their way in through the heavens. She slowed the car down out of curiosity since it definitely didn't look normal when all of a sudden there was a loud explosion accompanied by a red lightning and a small fireball was thrown from the tear in the sky . Even though the lightning never hit the ground she felt the explosion rock her car and the object from the tear hit the ground, bounced a few times ripping up the earth and eventually landed right in front of her car throwing up a massive dust cloud. Root brought the car to a screeching halt and waited for the dust to settle to see what exactly had landed in front of her. As the dust slowly cleared she saw a figure standing in the middle of a small crater.

It was Sameen.

Root stared at her as Sameen stood up and dusted herself off.

"Sameen," Root shouted as she leaned out of the car window.

"Hey Root." Sameen replied as she steadied herself.

Root stumbled out of the car ran towards the crater in which stood Death.

"What the fuck, that was quite an entrance."

"Yeah, it's not very easy to break those barriers they put up. My boss isn't going to be too pleased about it." Sameen grinned.

Root laughed.

"Root listen to me, I don't have a lot of time. They're going to pull me back any second now. I need to know what you're plan is."

"What do you mean? I'm going to get Gen back."

"Yes, I know that. But how, you're going to do something stupid aren't you? I know you too well."

"Well...." Root stopped and smiled back sheepishly.

Sameen flickered for a moment and then became whole again but not without some effort on Sameen's part.

"Promise me you won't do anything stupid." Sameen continued as if nothing had happened but Root could see her sweating from the effort to stay in this physical plane.

"It's a little late for that. I already made the deal with that Stanton woman."

"That's fine. That won't kick in till you're dead. She wants your soul. She's not interested in you while you're alive."

"But what's the point," Root sighed, "I still can't be with you."

As if taking the cue from Root, Sameen once again began to flicker this time it took her a lot longer to regain form. As Sameen struggled the space around her started to distort. Root looked around and she could see that it wasn't just the space around Sameen but the effect was beginning to expand outwards from where she stood as if someone had decided that if they could pull her back they'll just take the entire patch of land she stood up.

Root had never seen such a display of strength, it terrified her.

But after a few tense moments, Sameen finally came back. This time the effort was clearly visible on her face as she tried to catch her breath as if she's just run a hundred miles. Root had never thought she would live to see the day when someone made Death sweat.

"Are you alright? Maybe you should just go back. Your boss really doesn't seem very happy." Root said. She'd never thought anything could hurt Sameen, she was Death after all. But now she wasn't very sure.

"I'm fine. But to answer your question, what if you can be with me?" Sameen said slowly.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I'm planning to take a long vacation. It's been due for a while. I've been doing this for over ten millennia, I can take a break for a century or two."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes, as long as you promise to not do anything stupid."

"Sameen, even if I don't die I'm still a fugitive from the law. I'm a wanted mass murderer."

"As long as you survive the rest is secondary. I can get you out of the country and there are enough places in the world where we can live where no one will ever find us."

Root sighed.

"But I want to be with you forever and as long as Kara has that spell on me I'm still going to end working in hell as a mindless drone. Unless..."

"Unless what?"

"Unless you break the spell. You're Death, one of the most powerful entities in existence, surely you can break it"

Sameen shook her head.

"You're thinking about the Death, my ultimate boss. It can do anything. Me, I'm just a lowly worker. I'm hardly omnipotent. Besides Kara is something of a mad genius when it comes to soul magic. No one knows how to break one of her spells especially not in a rush. But that's my point, come back to me and we can figure out a way."

"You're right. Together we can do anything." Root replied. She could finally see a glimmer of hope.

"So just promise me you'll come back." Sameen said forcefully.

Root was quiet for a few seconds and then she smiled.

"I promise. I shall return." Root replied confidently as Sameen smiled back at her.

Root rushed into the crater to kiss Sameen when Sameen finally lost the battle of will with her bosses. Before Root could reach her she heard a massive gust of wind and it literally picked Sameen off her feet and threw Root off hers. Root lay there in the crater as she saw Sameen get lifted up in the air and then she promptly vanished.

"Assholes, " Root screamed at the sky, "You couldn't have given us ten more seconds.

She just wanted to lie there in that hole in the ground happy in the knowledge that she was at last going to be with Sameen when she remembered that she still had a job to do and do it the smart way.

She got back into the car and drove off towards the motel trying to come up with a better plan.

 

* * *

 

It was almost sunset by the time Root reached the Road's End motel. It looked like something out of an Alfred Hitchcock film except there was no vegetation other than a few dried shrubs. It was a broken L-shaped building, with the length of the L broken into two pieces and large concrete patch in the middle which was used an additional parking lot. The manager's office was in the beginning of the "L". Silva was in Room 3 which was near the other end of the building. It was a medium sized motel, with a total of thirty rooms. There were a few cars and two large trucks in the parking lot. One of the trucks was parked on the concrete patch that went through the middle of the motel completely obscuring the view from the manager's office to the rooms on the other side.

Root stopped the car at a distance and walked the rest of the way. In the five minutes it had taken Root to drive to the motel she had managed to come up with a plan that could actually work. She just needed to get Silva out of her room for a few minutes so she could go in and get Gen. She was going to let the cops do the rest.

The first call she made was to 911.

"Hello 911, what is your emergency?" asked a polite voice.

"Hello, my name is Zoe. I think I just spotted that woman they've been talking about on the TV. The one who killed all those cops in the big city."

"Are you sure?" the tone of the voice changed. It sounded a lot more urgent.

"Yes. I'm staying at the Road's End Motel near the border. I think you should send someone over as soon as you can. That woman is in Room No. 3."

Before the operator could answer Root disconnected the phone.

Now for the second call. She had the number for the motel and a code word. The code word was there to call Silva or Anna, whatever her name was. She figured that the owner was probably involved with Cartels and he would pass on the message and get her to the phone. She just hoped that that would give her enough time to get Gen out. As she got close to the Motel she felt her shadow abilities starting to diminish. The amulet that Silva had was wearing was tremendously strong, even this far out she could sense it but it didn't matter. If everything went according to plan she probably wouldn't even have to face Silva.

She hid behind the generator room that was on right side of the motel next to room no. 1 and made the call. It gave her enough of a cover and provided her with a good view of Silva's room.

She looked around to make sure she was alone and she made the call.

The phone rang for a few tense moments before a man picked it up.

"What?" a voice asked rudely. The man probably didn't like his busy schedule, of running a run down motel, being interrupted.

"Get Harper on the line, now." Root stated in a blunt, no nonsense business voice.

The man's tone immediately changed.

"Yes, ma'am. Just give me two minutes." the man said apologetically and put the phone on the table with a loud thunk.

Root could hear him running out of his office and a few seconds later she saw him. He was fat and distinctly out of shape since she could see that he was already out of breath in the five minutes it had taken him to reach Silva's room. He knocked on the door loudly and waited impatiently. A few seconds later the door opened just a crack. She could see the man talking to someone on the inside. The the door opened wide and Silva stepped out. She had an Uzi in her hand which she tucked into her pants and she went with the man. Root figured she had about five to seven minutes before Silva figured out that the call was a hoax and made her way back to the room.

As the distance between her and Silva increased she could feel some of her strength returning. She waited till Silva was hidden behind the truck and ran towards her room. Root grabbed the door handle and pushed hard enough to break it. But she was careful not to make a sound. She entered the dark room. It was at times like these she thanked her shadow skills since the darkness hid nothing from her, she could see the room as clear as day and it was empty. She figured Gen would be in the bathroom and she was correct.

Root entered the bathroom which was on the far end of the small room and found little Gen tied to the bathtub. She was beginning to wake up from her drugged sleep when Root reached her. Root reached for the handcuffs and broke them as she lifted Gen in her arms.

"Hey Gen, it's Root. You're safe now. I'm here to get you out." Root said as she cradled Gen in her arms and got up to leave.

"Hey Root." Gen mumbled and smiled before drugs kicked in again and she slid back to sleep.

Root held her with one hand and reached for a gun with her free hand. She didn't want to take a chance but she'd made it, she thought. A few more seconds and she'd be home free and then she could be with Sameen. She had barely stepped out of the room when she was greeted with a hail of gunfire. Root had misjudged the time it would take Silva to get back to the room who had sprinted back the second she was greeted with static on the line and she had been just in time to see Root exiting the room.

Root instantly spun around and dove back into the room with Gen still in her arms. She could feel the bullets that had hit her in the shoulder and the back. Her body screamed in pain. It was still recovering from the previous injuries and didn't appreciate these new ones. Root put Gen on the floor, took out both her guns and returned fire through the open door. Silva sprayed the door and the window with bullets, showering Root with wood shards and glass pieces. Thankfully the walls were thick enough to prevent the bullets from going straight through them. Root figured she would just wait till Silva ran out of bullets, which she ran out of soon enough just like Root, but she didn't know Silva well enough to know the fact that more than guns Silva like grenades and always carried one in the jacket pocket just for laughs. She figured now was the perfect time to put it to good use.

Root saw something small ball come sailing in through the window and hit the floor with a metallic thunk. Root picked up Gen and ran towards the bathroom. She dove into the bathroom as the grenade exploded and filled the room with fire and smoke. The shock wave from the explosion shook the entire room and almost brought down the bathroom wall. Pieces of brick and mortar fell on Root as she tried to shield Gen from the worst of it. She knew she didn't have enough time. Silva would be coming for her. She crawled out of the bathroom and hid behind the bed, which was partially on fire, waiting for Silva. Root still had a knife that she'd picked up from the dead mercenaries.

Silva entered the room cautiously, with a similar knife in her hand, the only weapon she too had left. Root could sense her because all her shadow enhanced abilities drained away because of Silva's amulet. Her wish had been granted, she was going to have to do this the old fashioned way.

Silva tried to peer through the thick curtain of smoke and fire when she saw a dark shape coming at her. She readied herself. Root rushed at Silva and lunged at her who immediately side stepped and threw her to one side. Root crashed into the coffee table that was in the corner of the room. As she tried getting up on her feet she realized that she gravely underestimated Silva's skills. Even though Root enjoyed killing people she wasn't nearly as skilled at unarmed combat as Silva. She would need a miracle to survive this and she got one. Suddenly a shot rang out and a bullet hit Silva in the gut.

It was Gen.

She knew that Silva had a backup gun in the bathroom closet and she'd managed to gather up enough strength to let off one shot before she passed out again but that shot was enough to give Root the advantage or at least equalize the playing field.

Root stood up and launched herself at Silva again. This time they both went down as Silva was still recovering from the unexpected gunshot. For a moment Root was on top and she raised her arm to stab Silva with her knife but Silva managed to block her attack and punched her in the stomach. A wave of pain crashed into Root. She had forgotten that she was still recovering from a multitude of bullet wounds. She fell to her side and Silva got the upper hand. She got on top and aimed her knife right at Root's heart.

"I don't know how you found me, bitch but you're not getting out of here alive and after I'm done with you I'm killing that little insect too." Silva said as she brought the knife down.

Root blocked her knife attack with her left hand and used her right to plunge her knife into Silva's side multiple times but Silva barely flinched. The adrenaline pumping through Silva's veins made her almost impervious to pain. She grabbed Root's right hand and broke her wrist. Root screamed in pain. The knife remained embedded in Silva's side.

Silva smiled as she put all of her remaining energy into driving the knife into Root's beating heart. Root used both her hands to try and block Silva's attack but she knew she couldn't hold her off for too long. Her right hand just wasn't up to the task. At that moment she knew that there was no way out for her. This was the end but she if she was going to die she was bloody well taking Silva with her it was the only way to ensure that Gen would be safe. She glanced to her side and saw a large shard of glass lying on the floor and she knew exactly what she needed to do. She looked up at Silva and smiled and let go.

She felt Silva's knife enter her heart with such force that it broke her sternum but it also threw Silva completely off balance and that was what Root wanted. With both her hands free she picked up the glass shard and plunged it into Silva's throat. Root finally got lucky as the shard had managed to hit the artery and blood started pouring from the wound. Silva tried to stop the blood flow but it was a futile effort. She was rapidly losing her strength as the blood flow continued unabated.

Silva opened her mouth but she had no last words. Root pushed her off her and watched as the life slowly faded from Silva's eyes. Root sat up and leaned against the bed frame. She looked down and saw the knife still sticking out of her chest. She coughed up some blood. She couldn't let Gen see her like that. She took a deep breath and broke the knife handle. She left the blade in so that she wouldn't lose blood too quickly. She zipped up her jacket to hide the wound and try and preserve whatever little warmth her body had left. She knew she didn't have a lot of time left. She had thought of looking for the amulet and break it so she could regain some of her strength but room was beginning to creak and groan around her. She didn't know how much damage that grenade had caused. She couldn't risk the roof coming down on her and Gen. She knew needed to get Gen out of the burning room now.

Root gathered the last bit of strength she had left and stood up. She walked up to Gen on unsteady feet and picked her up. Gen had at last regained consciousness and managed to stand on her own two feet. She took Root's hand and they both started to walk out of the room.

"Is she dead?" Gen asked as they passed Silva's body. Her cold dead eyes still staring at them.

"Yeah." Root replied as she limped along side Gen.

"Good. I didn't like her at all," Gen said as she looked up at Root, "I knew you would come for me. I told her that."

Root smiled at her and they left the room.

 

* * *

 

As they stepped out into the cold night air, Root could hear sirens and she could see the lights of the cop cars in the distance. She looked around and there was no one around. She figured the remaining guests were hiding in their rooms trying to avoid the gunfire. Standing outside the room, in the motel corridor Root could feel her strength fade with every passing moment. She knew she didn't have long but she didn't want Gen around for it.

"Gen could you do me a favor." Root said.

Gen nodded.

"Just go out there and make sure the cops find you."

"OK, but aren't you coming." Gen asked not wanting to be left alone.

"Well, you know the thing is that I'm a fugitive. If the cops find me they'll send me to prison. So I'm going to get out through the back. My car's parked there. You understand, right?" Root lied to Gen as she smiled and winked at her.

"Yeah, I understand" Gen smiled back and hugged Root, "Thanks Root."

Root kissed her on the head. Gen let her go and walked out towards the approaching sirens. As Gen faded into the night Root felt her legs lose their strength and she lost balance and slammed against the corridor wall. She gave up trying to stand and slid down and sat on the concrete floor her back against the wall. She opened her jacket and saw that her t-shirt was completely drenched in blood. She was about to close her eyes when she heard someone walking towards her. Root looked to her right to see who it was.

It was Kara Stanton.

"What're you doing here, making sure I don't lose my way on the way to hell?" Root asked cheekily.

"Not really. Your girlfriend sent me. She didn't want you to be alone." Kara replied with a sad smile on her face.

Root remained silent as tears rolled down her cheek.

"I thought they would have had her locked up after the little stunt she pulled."

"Let's just say they're pragmatic about the whole situation. They still need someone to reap the human souls and her errand boy isn't ready yet. But the shield around you is ten times stronger, Sameen won't breakthrough this time. "

Root smiled.

"So they're still assholes."

Kara laughed.

"Hey, could you tell Sameen something for me?" Root asked.

"Sure, anything."

"Tell her I'm sorry that I couldn't keep my promise."

Kara nodded in response.

They were both silent for a few moments when Root suddenly spoke.

"You know something?"

"What?" Kara asked curiously.

"You were right, I am great at dying." Root started to laugh but instead ended up coughing up more blood.

"Yes you were." Kara said as she took out a handkerchief and wiped the blood dripping from Root's lips.

As they both sat there and looked on, Root could see the cop cars stop and pick up Gen. Root smiled and sighed contentedly.

She'd kept her promise.

"I'm really tired. I think I'm going to rest for a while. Is that OK?" Root asked Kara.

"Sure. You've earned it."

And so the woman name Samantha Groves who liked to be called Root closed her eyes one last time.

* * *

 


	13. The Ferryman and The Passenger

There was a river named Styx.

Its surface was mirror-like, undisturbed save for the passing of a single lonely boat. The river seemed vast and endless, shrouded in fog, it looked like it went on forever but it did eventually reach its destination. Today, however, the ferryman was in no rush to get there. He just wanted to spend as much time as he could in the company of his sole passenger.

Even though they called him the ferryman, no one really knew his gender. Towering over its passengers at nearly nine feet in height, everyone had just assumed that it was a man and most days it's passengers were too lost or terrified to even bother asking. But once a long time ago, the ferryman had been a woman. Now it's gender remained fluid. It changed itself depending on who was in the ferry. Today it wore its traditional garb, a long dark robe with a hood that covered its face and only two bright red eyes shone from underneath it. Those eyes didn't shine as brightly on that day. Today they looked sad and the ferryman was glad that it's face was shrouded in shadows so it's passenger couldn't see them.

It's sole passenger was a middle aged woman dressed in black jeans and a leather jacket with lustrous black hair. She looked lost. She was looking at the river and its surroundings trying to figure out where she was. The river was lined with a dense forest on either side. Every once in awhile the woman would see something move in the forest, creatures that didn't quite look human but they looked hungry and they were looking back at her. They made her nervous but it seemed that the ferryman made them feel the same. None of the creatures had any intentions of taking on the ferryman especially since it looked in a particularly dark mood. Eventually the passenger decided it was best to ask the captain of this tiny but ornate ship and so she turned around and spoke to the ferryman.

"Hello" she said.

"Hello" replied the ferryman as it looked back at the woman.

"What's your name?" the woman asked.

"I'm called the Ferryman."

"Is that your name?"

"It's one of them."

The woman looked as if she was trying to remember something. The ferryman could see the struggle on her face but it didn't last too long.

"It's funny, but I can't seem to remember mine. Do you know my name?"

The ferryman remained quiet for a while before it answered.

"Your name is Root."

The ferryman waited for its passenger to react. It had hoped to see a glimmer of recognition at the mention of that name, but it got nothing. It saw that the name meant nothing to the passenger.

"Root? That's a weird name."

"It's what you liked calling yourself."

"Still, sounds weird." The woman chuckled.

The ferryman laughed too but it's laughter was tinged with sadness and the passenger picked up on it.

"If you don't mind me saying, you look a little sad."

"I do?"

"Yeah. Is it alright if I asked you what's wrong?"

The ferryman sighed.

"It's this job. It's just.... it's just that some days are harder than the others. Some days I wish someone else would do it." the ferryman replied.

"Maybe you need a vacation. Just get away from it all."

"I was planning to but it just didn't work out."

"Why not? Your boss not giving you an off?"

"Something like that." The ferryman replied sadly.

"The bastard. You should just walk into you office and say you quit."

"You know what, I think I'll do exactly that"

Hoping she'd cheered up the ferryman she asked the question that had been preying on her mind for a while.

"So, where are we going?"

The ferryman knew there was no other way to answer the question so it told her the truth.

"I'm taking you to hell." the ferryman replied, trying to keeping its voice as dispassionate as it could but it didn't succeed. It's voice was filled with regret. Regretful of the fact that in the end it had chosen duty over love and that maybe if it would have acted sooner neither of them would be here.

But now it was too late, now it had no choice but to complete its duty. It was well aware of the spell that had been cast on its passenger and it knew that its effects were permanent. The woman it knew as Root was gone and it knew of no method to bring her back.

"To hell? Does that mean I'm dead." Root asked

"Sadly, yes"

Root grew quiet and the ferryman went back to rowing the boat. They went a little more distance when she turned around again.

"Was I a bad person? I mean if you're taking me to hell I must have been bad, right?"

The ferryman thought about it before it answered.

"That's a difficult question to answer. You did do some terrible things to a lot of people, but you could say they were bad too so maybe they deserved it."

"Do you think that they deserved it, that it was ok for me to kill them?"

"No, I don't think it was ok for you to kill them, but you did enjoy it."

The woman thought about it for a second and smiled.

"You know what, that sounds right, something inside me tells me that I definitely enjoyed killing people. I guess that's alright then, me going to hell. I must have been a bad person."

"I wouldn't say that. You weren't bad entirely. You died trying to do the right thing. That counts for something."

"I did," Root's face suddenly lit up but then she looked confused again, "how come I don't remember any of this?"

"It's the deal you made, your memories to save the life of a little girl."

Root thought about it for a moment and looked up at the ferryman and smiled.

"That sounds fair, don't you think."

The hooded figure smiled back sadly. It just nodded it's head and rowed the boat down the river towards their inevitable destination. Root looked happy and content with the knowledge that she'd done something good with her life.

 

* * *

 

Time moved at a different pace in the underworld but it did move and after some time had passed the boat finally reached the dark shores of hell. The forest that surrounded the river had grown quiet. There were creatures that now roamed in those woods that actively hunted lost souls. They were always on the lookout for anyone that might lose its path and stumble into their neck of the woods. Usually the ferryman would just leave the souls at the shore and point them to the gates. Whether they made it to the gates or not wasn't its concern, but today it wanted to be sure that it's sole passenger reached her destination safe and sound.

It stopped the boat near the shore and got out. It knew the boat wouldn't drift away, it was tied to its will. Root got out alongside the ferryman and rubbed her arms trying to make herself feel warm. She opened her mouth to speak but instead of words, mist poured out of her mouth.

"I thought hell would be warmer, a lot warmer." Root commented.

"Actually hell does have seasons, two seasons in fact, freezing and burning. I guess we've arrived during the freeze."

"Should I be even feeling anything, I mean, I am dead after all."

"Souls can feel too."

"I'm beginning to realise that."

The side of the river on which they had embarked was devoid of any trees. It was barren and rocky for as far as the eye could see. As they walked on Root could see a massive wall coming into view. It seemed immeasurably tall. In fact it was so tall that Root felt that the tops might have a completely different weather than the base since it was completely covered in dark clouds which occasionally lit up with lightning flashes. In the middle of the rampart was a massive gate made of pure darkness that looked as if it was at least twenty storeys tall and on either side of it were demonic guards that were at least half as tall.

The ferryman looked at it's passenger to make sure that she wasn't scared but instead saw a look of awe on her face.

"It looks really impressive."

The ferryman smiled.

"It's the main entrance, it's only used on special occasions, but mostly it's just for show. No one really comes this way anymore. There are quicker ways to hell."

"You know, I was wondering about that. It does look awfully empty."

"Well, I felt like taking the scenic route today, give you the grand tour and all."

Root looked up at the ferryman.

"Has anyone ever told you you're really nice. I wish I could have met you when I was alive. I think we could have been really good friends."

The ferryman remained quiet. It didn't know what to say.

Then out of the corner of it's eye it noticed some movement near the gate. The sentries posted at the gate had noticed them and had sent a message inside. They had been surprised by the new arrivals too. Death hadn't come through this route in centuries. As they passed on the message the Ferryman and its passenger waited but they didn't have to wait too long. A few moments later the gates opened slightly and someone stepped out. Root couldn't make out very clearly since they were still standing at quite a distance but it looked like a woman. She motioned for Root to come to her.

"Well, it looks like this is it. Time for me to go. Goodbye, ferryman."

"Sameen. My name is Sameen" the ferryman blurted out. She had hoped that the name might jog Root's memory but she saw that the name meant nothing to her.

"Sameen," Root repeated the name, "that's a really nice name. I really liked all the time time I spent with you Sameen."

Root stepped forward with her hand outstretched.

Sameen wanted to grab her and scream at her, tell her that she loved her but she knew it would mean nothing to her beyond just confusing her and she didn't want to torture Root anymore than the torture she was about to face once she entered those gates.

So Sameen just shook her hand.

"The pleasure was all mine."

And so it was time for Root to go.

She turned around and walked towards the gates leaving the Ferryman behind who watched her walk away.

It stood there watching as Root approached the woman and they both walked in through the gates together and the massive gates close noiselessly. But the ferryman remained standing. It realized that it had no reason move, it had nowhere to go. So it just waited.

Waited in the hope that the woman named Root just might remember it and come running back from the gates, but it never happened. Yet it waited. The minutes turned to hours and hours turned to days in that place where time flowed differently and the ferryman waited. The demon guards at the gates were confused. They didn't know what to do. They didn't know why the ferryman stood there immobile, but they lacked the courage to ask it that so they let it be.

And Death waited for the maiden for a very long time.


	14. The long way through

A forgetful little girl in a crimson dress played on the beach. She had long black hair and wore a blue scarf around her neck to protect herself from the cold winter winds. It was almost close to sunset and she was busy building something that looked like an oddly shaped sand castle. She was all alone on the vast deserted beach but she didn't care because she was really engrossed with the construction process. Whatever it was that she was building it seemed really important to her. Up till now all she'd managed was to build was a slightly wavy circle which was about six feet in diameter. It looked as if it could form the base of the castle but even the girl wasn't sure what it would eventually turn into. She felt that she needed to build it before she forgot what it was she wanted to build. Her mother had told her that she had some strange illness that constantly made her forget things.

She didn't live too far, in fact she could see her house right there from the beach if she just turned and looked towards her left. It was a tall gothic manor that stood on a small hill at the end of the beach. She lived there with her mother and a whole bunch of other kids. The little girl wasn't sure if the woman she called Mother was in fact her mother since every one of the hundreds others she lived with called the woman, Mother, but it didn't matter, the woman was kind and she took good care of them and at that very moment she was walking up to her.

"Aren't you going to come home, sweetheart? It's getting dark outside, wouldn't want you getting lost now, would we?" the woman she called Mother said to her.

"No Mother, but I didn't notice how dark it had gotten." the girl replied as she got up and wiped the sand off her knees and dress.

"And look at you, you haven't even taken a bath since you got back and now you're all covered in sand." Mother scolded the little girl.

"Sorry mother, I won't do it again. Next time I'll take a bath before I come to play. It's just that on the way back I felt like I had to build something, but now I don't remember what it was."

"Oh, that's alright. Even I forget things sometimes. You'll remember it tomorrow. Now come along, I don't want you getting late for dinner. You know how grumpy everyone gets if dinner is served late and you do have an early day tomorrow, remember." the woman tried sounding stern but the girl knew she cared.

The little girl just nodded and walked back with her to the manor. Besides Mother was right, she did have an early day tomorrow. They were quite poor and so all the children of the house had to work, no exceptions. Tomorrow she had the early shift at the factory.

As they walked away a wave washed up on the shore and wiped away whatever little she had built. The little girl never noticed it. She was busy thinking about what she was going to get for supper because along the way to the manor her stomach had started to growl at her for ignoring it for so long. By the next morning she had forgotten all about her little construction project on the beach and the sea had left no evidence that such a project had ever been undertaken.

 

* * *

 

The girl in the crimson dress worked many jobs. She worked at a factory which made equipment of all sorts. Everything from knives and blades to machines for chopping and sewing. Her mother had told her that her little hands were perfect for building the more delicate tools that the factory made. Sometimes her mother would send her to other places. A garment factory, a large lumber yard where she was occasionally asked to chop small pieces of wood and even a small factory that made all manners of switches and levers. But that place had major issues with the power supply, or so she thought, because every time she would test out a switch the lights would flicker even though they weren't connected to anything, sometimes she would even hear a faint distant scream but there was no one there besides her and the other children. She usually just wrote it off as her imagination playing tricks on her.

The little girl was particularly good at sewing, that was her favorite job and even though a lot of times she felt as if what she was stitching didn't feel like cloth but it didn't bother her. She was a good worker and she wanted to make Mother happy.

On their days off the children would go out and play games, mostly war games. But there would also be other games, games that almost seemed like magic. There were game masters who would teach them various combat skills for their next game. It was the most fun they would have. Mother had told her she was really good at being stealthy, so she would play the assassin in the games. Sometimes she would wonder how many times she had played these games but most she had no memory of having ever played them, so each game was new, no matter how often they were repeated. She would always get surprised how quickly she and the other kids would pick up the skills. Mother always said that we're all just really smart.

But every evening on her way back home she would pass the beach and would feel the need to go and build a sand castle. She would never remember what exactly was it that she had built previously since the sea never left a trace of what she had built the previous day but nevertheless every evening she would tirelessly start anew. Some days she would get further than others before Mother would come looking for her and take her back home for supper and she would once again forget why she was on the beach to begin with.

And so her days passed, her mornings and afternoons occupied with sewing, chopping and flipping switches and her evenings spent on the beach constructing her mysterious sand sculpture.

She had no recollection of how many days had passed since she never kept a count, but then she also never aged. She always looked the same and she always wore the same crimson dress. Those things never changed. Some days late at night she would look at herself in the mirror and wonder how old she was but by the next morning all those thoughts were long gone from her mind. It was just another day and she had a job to do and she enjoyed her many jobs.

She was the same as every other child in that vast manor. They all wore the same clothes, they all never aged and none of them had names. Mother had told her that she wasn't old enough to have a name yet, that a name was something that she would have to earn. She had once asked her how she could do that and Mother had told her that she would have to figure that out herself. So for now she was just a number.

She was number 42.

The little girl with the crimson dress who never changed, but Mother had noticed that lately something had changed, 42 had started carrying her blue scarf with her to work. She knew that she would need it later when she would end up on the beach.

That was a change from her routine and change was a good thing.

And so every evening without fail the little girl would end up on the beach and everyday she would manage to build a little more. Soon she had constructed something large enough that ocean couldn't wash it all away, but she still couldn't exactly make out what it was that she wanted to build. She knew one thing for sure that it wasn't a castle. The more she built the more it looked like she was building a person, a statue of someone she might have once met in a long forgotten dream.

Then one day she did not return home. She went to the beach after work and just stayed there building. Mother saw her from the window of the manor and decided not to disturb her. She wanted to see how far 42 would go before she gave up, but the little girl never gave up. She remained on the beach reconstructing that long forgotten dream. She wanted to know who this figure was that plagued her mind. The night turned to day and again to night and for five days the little girl stayed on the beach. She never went to work, she never ate, she just built her dream.

And then it was done, but she couldn't recognize who it was. It was massive statue, nearly ten feet tall. It was a tall figure in a cloak holding a scythe. She knew the figure was familiar but she just couldn't put a name to the face. The little girl just stood there trying to jog her memory but nothing shook loose. Finally, Mother showed up.

"Hello sweetheart, looks like you finished it."

"Yeah" 42 replied proudly.

"Does it have a name?" Mother asked.

"I don't know. I think I know it but I can't quite remember it. Do you know it, Mother?"

The tall woman shook her head.

"Sorry, honey. It's your work, looks like you'll have to name it yourself."

The little girl nodded and remained standing in front of the giant statue. After a while Mother spoke.

"I think it's time you came back to the house. Your meal's getting cold. You can think up a good name for it tomorrow, alright?"

"Okay." The girl replied softly and followed Mother back to the manor. She was extremely tired after all.

 

* * *

 

The little girl was certain she knew the name, it was on the tip of her tongue. She spent her entire dinner thinking about it. In fact she spent the days thinking about it. Every day on her way back from work she would stop at the beach and try remember the name of her statue and every night she slept not having recalled the name.

Until one night at dinner she finally spoke up.

"The Ferryman."

Mother was serving dinner to one of the numbers and she stopped and looked at 42.

"What did you say, dear?" she asked.

"The Ferryman. That's the name, that's what it's called."

"Your statue on the beach? That sounds like a good name. Are you sure that's what you want to call it?"

The little girl paused. She felt like she was still missing something. She stood up and ran out of the house onto the beach. By the time she reached it she was completely out of breath. The beach was well lit by the moonlight except there were two moons in the sky and one of them had a ring around it. She looked up in surprise wondering why she'd never noticed it before but right now she had more pressing matters to attend to. She had finally named her creation but the name somehow seemed incomplete.

"What's wrong, sweetheart, I thought you liked the name?" Mother said.

The woman had followed her onto the beach but didn't seem out of breath at all.

"I don't know, the name just seems incomplete. I know she's the Ferryman but she also has a proper name and it's a beautiful name too."

"She?" Mother said.

42 hadn't realised but she'd just referred to the statue as a woman even though there were no physical characteristics on the sculpture that would indicate it's gender. But the girl was sure of it.

"Yes, it's a woman," she replied confidently, "I'm sure of it."

"Well it's getting late now. I'm going to bed. If you figure out a name for this ferryman or whatever you want to call it, you let me know." saying that Mother turned and began to walk back to the manor.

She had barely taken ten steps when she heard the little girl whisper something. She stopped and turned around.

"Did you say something, honey?"

"I remembered her name."

"Really, what is it?"

The little girl paused for a minute, she wanted to be sure. She somehow felt that if she gave the wrong answer Mother might not be very happy with her.

"Sameen." she replied softly.

"Are you sure?" Mother asked .

"Yes, " the little girl replied as her confidence grew, "her name is Sameen and I used to know her. I don't know how or when I did know her and then I lost her somehow."

Mother looked at her and smiled.

"It happens, sweetheart, sometimes we lose things along the way and then it takes us a very long time to find them again. Maybe it's time you found some other things you lost too."

"What else did I lose, Mother?" 42 asked.

"Your name. It's time you found your name too."

"But where do I look for it?" the little girl sounded lost. All of this was too sudden. She was finding it hard to deal with all this new information. She suddenly had this urge to just go back to the manor, finish her meal and go to bed. She didn't want to be late for work at the factory.

"Just go through there," Mother pointed at the woods at the other end of the beach, "and you'll find it."

"But won't I be late for work tomorrow?" She asked, still scared to break the norm.

Over time she had grown accustomed to her routine. There was a comfort in it. She still wasn't sure if she was ready to move away from it but something told her that this was important. So she gathered up her courage, turned around and walked into the woods.

Mother looked on till the little girl vanished into the woods and then she too promptly disappeared. She knew that her master would be most pleased with this development.

 

* * *

 

The forest was dense but there was a clear path through it. It was silent and seemed completely devoid of any kind of animals. The little girl walked through it towards her unknown destination and as she walked she began to change. She began to grow. She also started to develop a massive headache as she started getting flashes of memories that seemed as if they might be her own but she couldn't remember doing any of the stuff.

The memories belonged to a tall brunette. She didn't seem like a very nice person. The little girl saw her killing people, lots of people. But then she also saw her with someone else. She saw her with the ferryman. The tall woman knew her, she knew Sameen. They looked happy together. As the girl walked on she grew even more but barely realised it as her mind kept flooding with memories of a long forgotten life. She was finally nearing the end of her path and saw a small cottage at the end of it. She figured that's where she might find her name so she walked towards it.

 

* * *

 

The little girl, now a fully grown woman and also dressed like the grown woman from her new memories, reached the cottage and knocked on the door. She waited, but no one answered. She knocked again but the result was the same. She finally decided to try the doorknob and to her surprise it was open. She walked in and was greeted by the smell of freshly cooked meal and she realized she was famished. She was about to walk in when she stopped and looked at herself in the mirror and she finally recognized herself and remembered where she was.

"Ms. Groves, so glad you could join us." said a voice from inside the living room. Root walked in and there sitting close to a fireplace was a person she ever expected to see again, at least not in the world of the living, but this wasn't that.

"Elias?"

"Hello Root. I told you we'd meet again."

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Well, I kinda run the place."

"You're the Devil?"

"Well, that's one of the names but yes" Elias smiled.

"So what was all of that, back on earth. The gangs and everything else."

"That, that was just me having some fun. I do get bored of the routine every now and then."

"And Harold, did he know."

"Oh absolutely. Me and Harold have been friends for ages. Let's just say we left our old organization at the same time or rather we were fired at the same time." Carl laughed a little.

Root looked lost. She didn't know what she was supposed to do. This was all a little too much.

"Why don't we have some dinner and talk about your future with this organisation." Carl said as he motioned her towards the dinner table.

Root turned around to walk towards it and saw that Kara was already waiting for her at the table.

"Hello Mother" Root said sarcastically.

Kara just smiled back in return.

"So what now?" Root asked as she sat down and began to serve herself.

"Well, you passed the test. You're now officially a demon. Now we put you to work." Kara replied.

"Wait, it was all a test, you erased my memories and put me to work in a factory and waited for me to remember everything, what kind of test is that?"

"For starters it's a good way for you to gain the basic skills without getting bored. If you never spot the routine you never get bored and also if you never regain your memories then you were never strong enough in the first place. Either ways we get skilled labour for a very long time."

"What do you mean long time? I was in that factory for barely a few years."

Kara chuckled.

"Is that what you thought, a year or two. My dear girl you've been here for four thousand years and you should be impressed with yourself. Most drones take over six to eight thousand years to wake up. In your case I'd say you were quite motivated." Kara smiled knowingly.

Root sat there stunned by the knowledge. It couldn't have been that long. She tried to remember her time and then it all came flooding back. She saw all of it. Hundreds upon thousands of children, all having the same blank stare, torturing millions upon countless millions using a multitude of tools and techniques. It all looked like one massive, fucked up boot camp and she felt strangely unaffected by any of it. Maybe that's what it had all been about.

Mental and physical conditioning.

Hell had trained her without her having ever realized it. But she still couldn't get over the fact that she'd been there for that long.

"Four thousand years." Root said softly, still trying to come to grasp with the number.

"Relax Ms. Groves, it's not that long. That's about three centuries in the outside world. In case no one ever told you, time moves differently here. That way we get to torture people a lot longer and train demons a lot faster in regards to earth time."

Root was equally stunned by that piece of news as well.

"Three hundred years, God, how much has the world changed. Do we have flying cars. Did the world drown, you know global warming and all that shit?" Root knew she was babbling.

Even though she was glad that it had only been a few centuries and not forty but three hundred years was still a long fucking time.

"Yes to both your questions. Humans do have flying cars and yes parts of the world are now submerged under water. All those climate change deniers most of them are with us now. I like putting them on top of a slowly melting iceberg in shark infested waters. It's fun watching them try to swim to safety and the get ripped to shreds. But the good news is that Humanity did get to Mars. In fact they have a colony there now. Oh and we don't say the "G" word here."

"Wow, that's fantastic. So what now? What does a Demon do?" Root asked.

"It depends upon the job you’re given. Since you like hunting I’m going to put with our team of bounty hunters.”

“Bounty hunters, what do you lot need to hunt. Wait, are you telling me people actually manage to escape hell.”

“Yes, you see no prison is perfect. Sooner or later some genius always manages to figure a way out. That’s where you come in. Ms. Stanton will explain the details to you. And I haven't given you the best news yet, you’ll get to go back to the world of the living."

Root was ecstatic upon hearing that piece of information. She no longer needed to plan her escape. But a funny thought crossed her mind.

"What if I don't come back, what would you do then?" Root asked tentatively.

Carl smiled.

"Where would you go Ms. Groves. Run away with the reaper and then what. Last time I check the reaper is a very busy creature. It's always out there collecting and delivering souls, what would you do when it's out. Wait at home like the faithful housewife. You would need something to occupy your time and last I checked you liked hunting people and these will all be bad people. They have escaped from hell after all."

His argument did make sense, what would she do with her time.

"So, you wouldn't mind if I got together with Sameen?"

"Oh Ms. Groves, you'll find Hell to be quite understanding." Carl smiled and replied.

Root was overjoyed. She couldn't wait to get back to earth.

She had a promise to keep.

 

* * *

 

Death was still waiting but it no longer waited for the maiden. It had been over  three centuries since Root had stepped through the gates of hell and Sameen had finally made peace with the fact that she wouldn't be coming back. Even though she did on occasion find herself on the shores of hell hoping for the gates to open and for Root to return.

No, she no longer waited for Root but she was waiting, she was waiting for Cole to show up who was late and Sameen was about to lose her patience when he finally showed up.

"You're late."

"Sorry, boss. Got tied up running some errands."

"What errands, you were at that stupid show weren’t you?"

Cole looked back at her sheepishly.

“Sorry boss, but I couldn’t help myself. Everyone keeps saying how great it is. I just had to watch it for myself. It’s pretty great if you ask me.”

“It’s stupid and inaccurate and the actress playing Root looks nothing like her.”

“I thought you weren’t interested.”

Sameen stared at him furiously.

"Alright, you need to get back to work. Looks like someone just passed away not too far from here."

"Could you do it boss, please. I promised some guys I met at the mall that I'll have drinks with them. It's just a few hours and then I'll be back on duty. Please" Cole looked at her with puppy dog eyes.

Sameen just shook her head in disbelief.

"Fine. But you're handling the water zones for the next month, understand. I hate being wet all the time."

"Yes, ma'am." Cole replied and saluted.

Sameen smiled grudgingly and vanished.

 

* * *

 

It was late at night and Death was outside a small house on the side of the street. That was it's destination. There was nothing particularly interesting about the house or it's occupant. An elderly man who lived alone, and by the looks of the house really liked computers and gadgets. It looked like another day at the job except that Sameen could sense the presence of another.

A demon.

This was most unusual. Demons rarely interfered with a pick up. If they wanted to do something to the soul they could always wait till the soul was dropped off at it's intended destination. As they said, there was always a gap between the cup and the lip. If they wanted to steal a soul they could do it at the very gates of heaven and it had been done, but no one ever interfered with a pick up. But that wasn't the only issue. The house was crawling with shadow creatures. That was something she hadn't seen since she was back at Root's apartment. It almost made her feel nostalgic.

She readied herself and entered the house. She was half expecting the demon torturing the poor soul. If that was the case it would have a lot to answer for. Sameen did not tolerate such things, not on her watch. But to her surprise there was no soul. There was a relatively old man, probably in his late sixties and he looked perfectly alive.

He was sitting calmly on a sofa and sitting next to him was a tall demon, almost feminine in appearance. They were talking.

As Sameen came closer she could hear the demon talk.

"Thanks, Harry"

"A pleasure, Ms. Groves." Finch replied.

"Oh, and Carl says he's got the chessboard ready."

It was then that Harold noticed Sameen.

“Reaper, I do apologize for the subterfuge but someone wanted to surprise you.” Harold said with a smile.

Sameen was rooted in place. This wasn't possible. But then the demon turned around and transformed simultaneously.

"You know, you never told me how you became Death?" the demon grinned and asked.

"Root?"

"Hey Sameen, I know I'm late in keeping my word but I did say I shall return." Root smiled as she looked at Sameen’s stunned face.

“But how... did you escape?” Sameen was still trying to get her brain to function at normal speeds again.

“Not really, it’s like they say, if you can’t beat them, join them.”

Root walked up to Sameen and gave her a quick peck on the cheek and started walking towards the door. Sameen rubbed her cheek to make sure that this was really happening.

“I promise I’ll tell you all about it, after all we have the rest of eternity, but right now we have to go or we’ll be late.”

“Late, late for what?” Sameen turned around and asked.

“Oh, I asked Cole to get me tickets for some stage play. I wanted to take you out on a date. It’s called Death and the Maiden. He said it’s really good. So, are you coming?” Root didn’t really wait for an answer. She just walked out of the door.

Death stood there for a second and then eventually ran after the maiden trying to catch up. After all they had a lot of catching up to do.

* * *

 

 THE END


End file.
